


Bonded Hearts

by Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmate Writing, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Supernaturally Bonded
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 14:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16812580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter/pseuds/Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter
Summary: Danny Fenton was born with writing on his arms that proved he had a more difficult soulmate problem than most. The result was his skin being covered as much as possible and Danny warned that he shouldn't look at the words or write any back. Danny has always been a little bit curious as to who his soulmate was, but he never thought on how he might have more than one soulmate.





	1. Chapter 1

Bonjour, mes chers! Oh, boy, where to even start with this one? This is an old thing I wrote for my girlfriend awhile back during the whole _Your Words On My Skin_ project. It's Iambic Prose, but it's also Supernaturally Bonded - which is our name for Danny, Ghostwriter, Randy, and an OC we call Novan. This, as with Words On My Skin, is a soulmate AU! It deals with the same idea, but with Danny having three mates instead of just one.

I'm well ware that this is a rather crazy story even by my standards, so I promise I won't be upset if you click the back button right now! Still, give it a little bit of a chance, at least? If not, refresh the page a couple times so it makes it look like people are reading it.

If you choose to keep reading, though, then thank you and happy days!

[Whether you like this or not, consider supporting me over at my tumblr **ibelieveinahappilyeverafter**. It has all my stories, information, updates, and even ways to support me - like buying me a quick coffee to keep my crazy energy going.](http://ibelieveinahappilyeverafter.tumblr.com)

With all that out of the way, I hope you enjoy!

Clarification: Danny is fourteen at the start of the story, which takes place within Season One-Two of Danny Phantom.

* * *

" _-just one more quick picture-"_

" _-could go wrong? It's not even turned on-"_

" _-better shot. Try taking a few more steps inside-"_

" _-sounds like it might actually be working for once! Do you guys think-"_

_Click._

_Pain exploded across his entire being and there was nothing but screams and anger and betrayal and it should never hurt this bad he was so young someone so young should never hurt this bad and it felt like he was being torn apart at the seams and it hurt it hurt it hurt someone please make it stop hurting please please please-_

" _Ssh, it's alright, mon cher. It was just a nightmare. You're okay." Warmth and purple and books and the sound of typing and arms tight around him as that voice cooed into his ear and he was safe. Something scarier than the nightmares was protecting him._

" _Easy there, petit mec, easy… There we go, see? It gets pretty bad, but we're all okay. See? All of us are right here for you and we're safe and happy. No need to worry, yeah? We're fine." Safety and white and steel guns that only ever hurt those who attacked first and a body curled around his that would keep him shielded from all harm as gentle words were murmured against his skin. He had someone that knew others came first, sometimes, and his well-being was second to theirs._

" _Another one, huh, little Phantom?" A swirl of danger and teeth and blissful, feral freedom that was hidden behind a smirk and calm hands that never shook as he was pressed down and unable to move even a bit as voiceless reassurance was seared into his skin. He had one who knew that words could not fix damage, but touch could communicate more than anything else ever would._

" _Oh, Danny…" The sigh fluttered against him_ as his eyes squinted open, Danny blinking rapidly at the morning light that was streaming into his bedroom. His lips turned down into a frown as he quietly groaned to himself. While he didn't have anything against mornings personally, they were _mornings_.

Pushing himself up with a jaw-cracking yawn, Danny raised an eyebrow as his door opened, Jazz poking her head inside and glancing around before raising an eyebrow at him. "You're only just now getting up? You have school!"

"Stop sounding like Mom. It's not even seven, yet." It was at least two minutes off. "You know, Jazz, there's this new thing they invented, too. It's called knocking."

"There's also this new concept they discovered called showering. Maybe try it?" Trying not to laugh, because Jazz was not at all funny, Danny rolled out of bed and caught himself before standing up and oh, right. He had _that_ dream again. "Danny?"

"What? Oh, no, nothing, just remembered the dream I had." He was given a _look_ , but Jazz retreated with a last call of hurrying up before he missed breakfast. Sighing, Danny looked down to where his pajamas were covering near every inch of his skin, even trailing down past his fingertips. "Stupid."

He always thought about his covered skin when he woke up from dreams like those. The dreams weren't exactly new, but they hadn't started happening until he had emerged from his parent's ghost portal over a year ago. For some reason, that dream always made him so _bitter_ when he saw his covered skin.

Shaking the thoughts off as best he could, Danny grabbed something that looked vaguely clean before hopping into the shower. He hated those dreams for the simple reason that they made him curious about his soulmate. Which was stupid. He didn't need to be curious about his soulmate. Sure, he was a curious and those dreams made him more curious, but his parents probably had a good reason for him wanting to keep his skin covered.

The reasons probably varied from causing pain to him or his soulmate or saving Danny pain in case he _had_ no soulmate. It wasn't impossible that his parents would cover his skin up when they saw there were no signs of a soulmate. So, really, if he met them on his own, hey, that was great! If he didn't, well… It wasn't like a person needed a soulmate to be happy, right?

Groaning and dunking his head under the water, Danny silently admitted that his lying maybe wasn't all that great - or maybe he just sucked when it came to lying to himself. Getting dressed and avoiding looking at his skin as much as possible, Danny slipped into auto-pilot, because he next found himself walking with his friends to school and munching on a strip of bacon.

"Ah, that dream again, then." It was kind of rude that Sam didn't even phrase it as a question so he could lie to himself _a little_. "How many times can you have that same dream?"

"Dunno. How many hints can you give him?" Danny snorted as Tucker looked at him in confusion the same time Sam stuck her tongue out and pulled her sleeves down even further. Honestly. _Danny_ had figured out those two were soulmates three years ago. Tucker, however? Well… He was Tucker. "It's not like it's a bad dream."

"Dream? You mean the one where you go through the portal and then suddenly start talking to three different people? Because no matter how many times you tell me it's a good dream, it sounds weird and creepy as shit."

"It's a little creepy as shit, but it's mostly a nice dream." He could never remember who the three were, though. He remembered warm touches, words in a language he didn't know, and the sense of utter safety. All in all, not a bad dream to have. "I just don't know what it means. I mean, I had to have heard those voices before since it's a dream, but I know I never _have_. That's weird, right?"

"The human brain is weird," Sam shrugged, and, yeah, okay. She had a point. "I say if it's not hurting you and you're not obsessing over it, then don't worry about it." Yeah… Yeah, see, Danny had never told them the part where after that dream, he usually spent days wondering and worrying after his mysterious soulmate – if he even had one.

Right. Okay. School. He could so totally focus on school instead of his weird dream and soulmate dilemma and what if it was a dream _about_ his soulmate? Except, no, that kind of didn't make sense- It really, really didn't make sense, because then why would he be dreaming about three separate people?

Maybe one of them was his soulmate and the other two were just really close future friends, except, no, that was stupid, why would he be dreaming about the future? He couldn't dream about the future- Well, he technically could, but not the _future_ future. Maybe-

"You're obsessing." Startling at Sam's voice, Danny blinked at seeing where they were and, oh, homeroom. "You know, if you need to talk about it with someone, I'm all ears. You listen to my soulmate drama enough."

"Hey, I never said this was soulmate drama." It sure as hell felt like it, though, and Sam's look was telling him that he had not been subtle about hiding it as such, either. "Okay, so, it _kind_ of is soulmate drama. Sort of. It just doesn't make sense. I always dream of the same three people, but I don't know any of them."

"Well…" Sam trailed off, looking to be thinking as she tilted his head back and forth. "Maybe you have three soulmates."

"Three." Danny stared at her and Sam didn't even flinch. "You think me, the kid who has never even seen any soulmate writing, has _three_ soulmates."

"Why not?" Why not- Why- It was because it didn't make any _sense_. Soulmate. Soul _mate_. Singular! "There's been cases of triads when it comes to soulmates."

"Rarely. I feel like you're forgetting to add _rarely_ onto that- And me having three soulmates would mean there would be _four of us_. Three, yeah, okay, I could maybe buy that, but four? That's too crazy for even _me_."

"Is it? I mean, we thought ghosts weren't real a year ago, and now look." Okay… Okay, she had a point there, but a very, very, _very_ small point. "All I'm saying is that it's best to keep an open mind. If you really want to rule out having three soulmates, then you can just look at your skin."

"You know I can't do that." That was just about the only rule his parents had ever given him. Everything else could be pushed and nudged and tweaked, but it was a _rule_ that Danny was to kee his skin covered and never look.

"No, you're just too _scared_ to do that." Well… "Come on, Danny. What's scarier than being a ghost?" There was the chance that writing would hurt one of them, or cause them pain, or that Danny didn't have a soulmate and his skin was bare, but… There was always the chance that none of that was true.

"This is why my parents want you to stop coming over." Danny shook his head, reflexively tugging his coat around him as much as possible as he looked up to where Lancer was taking attendance. "The only reason they still let you come over is because you don't eat all the food in the house."

"I _am_ better than Tucker, aren't I?" Sam was near _preening_ as she settled back in her seat. Danny had the hope that the conversation was done, but, as usual, his hope was shattered utterly and completely. "It could be possible, you know."

"Yeah. It could be." Could. That was the problem. It made just enough sense to cause hope, but it also lacked enough sense to chip away at that hope. Sam was right, though. Danny would never get any headway into this mystery unless he tried to find out just who his soulmate (soulmates?) was (were?).

Curling his fingers around one of his sleeves, Danny looked down and stared at the soft fabric before sighing. For as much as he wanted to, he knew the danger of digging into things that he had been told to stay away from.

It was a nice dream, if nothing else, at least. A dream of three people who loved and cared about him and always wanted the best for him and kept him safe from everything in his life that tried to hurt him.

Yeah… It was a nice dream.

::

"You felt it again, didn't you." Andrew didn't bother to make it a question since Randy's answer was clear on his face. "Do you think it's from them?"

"I doubt it." Randy collapsed onto the couch Andrew had taken over in the pursuit of finishing his latest novel, somehow avoiding each piece of paper and catching the few that had fluttered up at his dramatics. "It feels different. Younger? No… No, more like this one feels more scared."

"Emotions were always more your territory." Pushing some of the papers away, Andrew curled up on the couch and placed his legs over Randy's lap, keeping him pinned as he reached for an uncovered arm. "Any luck this time?"

"Do you know how big the Ghost Zone is?" Humming, Andrew completely ignored Randy's complaining as he wrote down his latest idea on the back of Randy's left arm. He'd use his _own_ left arm, of course, but he couldn't reach the back as well as he could Randy's. Ah, soulmate writing was so helpful, sometimes. "One day you'll stop using me as a blackboard, you know."

"Of course. I'll have our other soulmate to write across by the time you truly get annoyed by this." Andrew paused, raising an eyebrow at Randy's look. "Yes?"

"I can't tell if you just implied that we'd never find our soulmate because I'll never get annoyed, or if you just implied that I'd _honestly_ get annoyed by you writing on me." Thinking it over, Andrew finally just gave a shrug, delighting in the annoyed huff Randy gave.

"I suppose you'll find out when you find our other soulmate." Turning Randy's arm around, Andrew stared at where words were etched across the inner left arm of both Randy and Andrew. They were words neither of them had written and words that were in a language only known to ghosts. "How long do you think they've been waiting…"

"A very long time, I'm willing to bet." Randy twisted them around and, in a flash, Andrew was tucked under Randy's chin and in his lap, left arm still held out for him to write across. "We've seen their writing since we were kids."

"We've seen _ghostly_ writing since we were children." Andrew scribbled a response in the same language back, biting back a laugh when a frowning face - very similar to the way Randy drew his - was given in response.

"Are you agitating them, again?" Perhaps just a touch, but it was something Andrew was very good at. "This is why they're sending us on a fuckin' scavenger hunt to try and find them."

"Or maybe they've simply been a ghost so long they've forgotten the concept of time." Andrew leaned up to give Randy a sweet kiss, trying not to laugh as the man calmed down at once. "We'll have to remind them why they shouldn't have kept us waiting."

"Try not to scare them off just yet." Randy plucked the pen out of Andrew's grasp and began doodling little ghosts under where Andrew had been writing. Andrew was very pleased when all of them were scribbled over with a different pen. "Our soulmate is very rude."

"Perfect for us, oui?" Andrew settled down against Randy and gave a soft sigh, content to let the man doodle across their skin as he relaxed. While he fully supported Randy exploring the Ghost Zone to try and find their missing mate, it was nice when he was home and they could relax together. It was never pleasant when Randy was gone for too long. Near thirty years had passed since they left their childhood 'home', but Andrew still felt as if he would wake up back in that room he still dreamt of, some days.

"Hey." Randy gave a light tug to the tip of one sensitive ear, Andrew whining as he frowned up at him. "Get out of your head."

"I want them." Andrew closed his eyes to avoid Randy's puppy dog eyes, settling back against him and sighing softly at the warmth. "I want them here with us. 'S not fair that we finally get to be happy, but they're out there all alone."

"They're probably not alone," Randy finally muttered, kissing at the back of Andrew's neck and, yes, alright, that felt rather nice. "We'll find them, Andy. At last we know they're out there if they're still writing to us."

"Mm." It was still amusing to think that the first thing their other soulmate had ever said to them - at least, the first thing they had understood, was to 'stop writing so damn much.' Randy had been delighted and Andrew had been offended. It had been a great day. "It's been so long."

"We'll find them." Randy tucked him closer, Andrew shivering as his shirt was pushed down and out of the way, Randy pressing kisses against his shoulder. "Sorry I was gone so long, Andy."

"I suppose you had a rather good excuse as to why you were gone," Andrew purred, the sound rumbling in his chest as he arched against one of the kisses. "It _was_ an awfully long time, though. I think you'll have to make it up to me."

"Oh?" Randy's voice was full of cool charm and syrupy sweetness, Andrew shuddering as a huff of breath washed over his skin. "I think I know just the way, too…"

With that, Andrew found himself alone on the couch with Randy walking to the door and… What? No- Wait. What just happened? "Ra- Randy?"

"I feel rather in the mood to make some brownies." Oh- Oh, that was just _mean_.

"You're very bad for my heart, you know." Andrew huffed, and, fine. Two could play that game! Ha, he just wouldn't give him the satisfaction-

"Mhm. I think I'll wear that cute little apron you got me for my birthday last year." Fuck. That was playing dirty because Randy _knew_ what memories were attached to that apron. " _Just_ the apron."

"Brownies sound wonderful right now, mon chevalier." Ah, his mate did so spoil him. That was something that had never really changed, though, and Andrew was all too happy to exploit it. Moments like these, where everything was so _perfect_ , did make him worry, though.

What if they never found their other soulmate? The Ghost Zone _was_ big, and if their soulmate didn't want to be found, then they would never find them. Simple as that.

What if they were missing something important? Yes, alright, it was hard to miss the fact they were missing their soulmate, but there was always this feeling of something _else_ , as well. It felt like a missing page in a book - which was a feeling that drove Andrew _mad_. Randy felt something young and scared, but Andrew felt something incomplete and yearning.

What if their soulmate didn't want them? Yes, according to research that was practically an impossibility, but there were stories of it happening before. And why didn't their soulmate ever try to find them or give better hints! Maybe they didn't _want_ to be found. It was a lot of worries, and Andrew knew it was useless to worry about things he couldn't change, but it still felt as if something-

Oh. Alright. Randy hadn't been joking about wearing nothing but the apron, had he? Aha, and Andrew remembered when he had _shame_ about things such as that. "Andy. You'll help me make my special treats for you, won't you?"

Well. Worries could wait for another time, he supposed.

A few very _fun_ hours later and Randy was curled up in bed and sound asleep, Andrew humming lightly to himself as he jotted down ideas on Randy's back for the latest novel idea he had come up with while Randy had been soundly fucking him against the kitchen counter. If he ever did anything 'professional' with it, he would have to use one of his lesser known pen names, but, well. It would be fun to write, at the very least.

Pausing at seeing some new ghostly writing on Randy's arm, Andrew squirmed his way up the bed to read it. ' _are you really fucking writing on his BACK right now?_ '

' _Oh? And how can you tell that, dear one?_ ' There was a very unflattering word written back, Andrew scribbling through it with glee.

' _you should be sleeping._ ' Mm, probably. Andrew didn't much care for sleep, however. Especially when there were ideas to write.

' _As should you, yet here we are. Do I get another clue, tonight?_ ' There were a long few minutes of silence, Andrew not minding as he shifted over to start absently doodling freckles on Randy's face before thinking better of it and quickly cleaning them off. Their soulmate probably wouldn't be pleased to be stuck with freckles. Neither would Andrew, for that matter.

' _where was he last?_ ' Ah, where _had_ Randy been last…

' _The desert, I believe._ ' There had been quite a bit of vicious complaining before he had left, too. ' _Were you there?_ '

' _do you think I was?_ ' Cheeky. Andrew loved it. ' _you two are really committed to this._ '

' _We could be committed to you._ ' Mm, no, that was far less charming over words. Andrew scrubbed the words away and hoped Randy wouldn't realize Andrew had used his spit. Again. ' _I'm still waiting for that clue._ '

' _alright I'll give you a clue._ ' Ha, of course they would. ' _at the next shift after you sleep_.' Bastard. Andrew _loved_ them. ' _good night little writer._ '

' _Good night, dear one._ ' Andrew paused and doodled a little heart after his words, refusing to admit the way that stupid nickname made his heart squeeze.

"Ya have yer own arms, ya know." Ah, Randy with his accent thick in his voice was so nice. Kicking his way back under the blankets, Andrew hid a grin when Randy lifted an arm for him at once.

"Yes, but it's far easier to write on yours. Also, don't shower when you wake up." There was a snort of what was probably laughter, Andrew humming as a kiss was pressed against his cheek.

"Love you." Mm, now _those_ were perfect words. "Now go the fuck ta _sleep_." Those weren't so bad either, he supposed.

"You two will get along marvelously." Andrew curled up to Randy's chest with a soft sigh, shifting so he could see where their writing was still spread out across all their arms. It was nice to know that even if they didn't know what their soulmate looked like, they were still connected. "We'll find them."

If it was one thing they had learned, after all, it was to not give up. White Fang and the Priest might have been stubborn, but Andrew was finding that the Ghostwriter and the Mercenary were even _more_ so.

::

"As soon as I find you, I'm going to punch you," Randy promised, glaring down at his right arm. "Why do you have to be left handed, anyways?" It made it harder to write swears under the teasing comments of their other soulmate. Huffing and writing one as steadily as he could, Randy capped his pen and kept flying.

It had been two relaxing weeks of recovering from his last trip and spending time with Andrew before the need to find their mate had started pulling him apart again. Randy had tried to put it off a little longer - he _had_ been neglecting Andrew for a while, but Andrew knew him better than Randy knew himself, some days.

Which meant that Andrew had fucked him into a goddamn coma and when he woke up his bag had been packed and Andrew had shown him the next 'hint' that had appeared on their arms. The younger had also been very smug, but Randy couldn't argue too much since the feeling really had been getting to him.

Of course, Randy still wasn't sure why their mate had to _test_ him and Andrew when it came to finding them, but damn if Randy was going to lose something like this. He'd tear apart the whole damn Ghost Zone if he had to.

' _I've checked every inch of the Woods and you've never been in there before._ ' Randy winced at how shaky and uncertain his words looked when written in his left hand, and, really, this was why Andrew and Randy wrote on each other instead of their own arms. It was easier when their mate was left handed. ' _You're fucking with us aren't you._ '

' _whoever said I lived in only one place?_ ' Because that's what ghosts did? They had _lairs_. Ghosts had _lairs_ and _set locations_ and it was only… ' _finally piece it together?_ '

' _You're from a clan._ ' Fuck. _Fuck_ \- Oh, Andrew had written the same over their mate's words. It made sense, though. That would be why their mate was so strange and why they had never been able to find them. It was because they were part of one of the ghostly clans and the clans all tended to work a bit differently. ' _Which one?_ '

' _that'd be too easy._ ' Great. Right. Yeah. Near three decades searching and they had only _just discovered_ that their soulmate was a part of one of the clans. That was fine, but that meant it would probably be another thirty years before they found out anything else! ' _how much do you know about clans?_ '

That was a good question. Andrew wrote in 'the basics,' but they didn't really know much at all about the clans. Randy had found out that there were clans - sometimes tribes - that banded together and were all spirits. Some of them were born from the Ghost Zone, like the case of the Far Frozen and the tribe ruled by Frostbite, but others crossed over and were slowly accepted into a group who was always on the move and worked as a family unit.

If their soulmate was from a clan, then it would explain the reluctance to meet them. The average ghost was still mostly human, but clan members were different. Randy had never had the words to explain it. Words were Andrew's thing, but the clans tended to be more… Not feral, but wild? No. Free. They didn't bind themselves by human standards. It made for quite the clash, at times.

' _we're traveling through the woods for the next dozen shifts._ ' Dozen shifts. A shift was the Ghost Zone version of a day and typically around thirty-six hours or so. Randy wasn't quite sure since he could only feel the change between night and day when he was further away from the stable portals that they lived near. Right. A dozen shifts. That should give him near three weeks human time to search the woods. Last time it had taken him two _months_ to search through the entire woods.

Looking down to his arm, and feeling more than a little hopeless, Randy paused as he saw their soulmate's words written across his right wrist like a bracelet, linked together in a beautiful pattern that spelled out ' _good luck_.' Randy traced his fingers over the words before taking a breath, and, right. He could do this.

Andrew didn't know the Ghost Zone as well and became unsteady when he was away from a safe location for too long, but Randy? He had always been good at moving from place to place and this wasn't really any different. It might have been a bit different, but he could handle it, at least. Besides, all those years of traveling the Ghost Zone had taught him a lot about ghosts and who he was, and if he managed to find their soulmate, then he wouldn't change it for the- Oh, son of a bitch.

Randy had met clans and tribes and they all had the same hierarchy and style and tests and this was a _test_. Ghosts and spirits had no care for the time that passed. Why would they? They had an eternity. Their soulmate giving them so little information and sending them running around the Ghost Zone had to have been a _test_. A test of what, though?

' _It was a test_.' Seeing the words appear in French on his left arm, Randy snorted and uncapped his pen. At least Andrew had realized it, as well. ' _If they're part of a clan, then all of this had to be one of their tests or rites of passage._ '

' _You have a book open on your lap right now don't you._ ' There was a frown drawn next to his words and oh, yeah, Andrew had dug through his books on clans at once. ' _Rites of passage?_ '

' _Clans typically have rites for certain points in their "lives" and I have no doubt soulmates are one of them. Maybe they're testing our devotion?_ '

' _I'm going to punch them._ ' Damn, he was running out of space. Why did Andrew have to _write_ so damn much? ' _Right after I kiss them._ '

' _Idiot._ ' Ah, but Randy could tell Andrew was smiling fondly. ' _Find them and bring them home. I believe they're getting as tired of the game as we are._ ' Squinting near the end as Andrew's words grew small enough to fit in the free spaces, Randy wrote a quick agreement back. Randy may not be Andrew, but he could feel the way everything was building and coming to a close. It was time they found their soulmate.

' _quit writing so damn much i can't see my skin!_ ' Choking on a wild laugh at the words that were written over their French, Randy drew a beaming face the same time Andrew drew a frowning one. They were both scribbled out viciously, Randy laughing even louder.

"Right, then. No name, no gender, no age, no description, and nothing but a clue that you'll be in the Woods for the next dozen shifts." Capping his pen, Randy drew himself up as he looked over the massive expanse of woods. "I'll find you."

Because there were nights he felt fear that wasn't from Andrew. There were days he felt weariness and loneliness that was from neither of them. The days he felt like it was all coming to an end… Those days weren't his. It was for that alone some days that Randy kept pushing himself further and further into the Zone, willing to do whatever it took to find their missing mate.

Although that still left him with hundreds of miles to search through a haunted wood. Crossing his arms as he hovered over the 'entrance,' Randy looked from side to side. Right. Their mate was part of a clan. That meant there would be a large group with possibly young ghosts or even children. They would stick to either the outer edges, or travel through the north side of the Woods. Those typically were the safest and quite nice to visit.

It would take him three days to travel that far even _with_ the use of his teleportation, and at that point he would be worn out enough that he would need to rest for at least two days before continuing. If he chose the wrong spot, he would be five days into it and would run out of time before he figured out another spot to search.

"What other clues have you given me…" They knew little things. Their mate's favorite color, the fruit they liked most, and a few stories of when they had been young. That was still so _little_ , though, and none of it seemed to help in a case like this. "Okay, okay, okay. Think like Andrew- Nope, no, bad idea."

Andrew's idea would be to investigate every piece of writing they could remember which would take days, and then he would pick the direction that 'felt right' and refuse to admit he could ever be wrong even when they found nothing. Thinking like Andrew was a bad idea. Okay, so think… Think White Fang, maybe.

Maybe he needed to stop thinking of this as a job like he had been, and think of it more like a mission. He had been given all the information he needed, he just had to put it all together. Staring out over the woods, Randy closed his eyes and let out a quiet breath, turning over every phrase he could remember that their mate had ever written to them. He wasn't sure how long he sat there before he paused as he felt a slow grin curl on his lips.

"East." A conversation on exploring almost two years ago had revealed that their soulmate always traveled east, first, when arriving at a new place. A silly little belief that had yet to steer them wrong. "So, if you would be traveling east first, that would mean you'd have to come in from the oceans." A joke about sand there and gone in a flash said three weeks ago and Randy _grinned_. "So that's where you'll be."

Coming in from the oceans and heading east would put them on a path towards the center of the Woods. It would take two days travel time to reach the direct center and only one day for him to recover and gather his energy around him. After that he could look around for signs of a clan and then continue heading east while setting up markers to help him teleport back to check for any signs he missed.

Looking down to the good luck wrapped around his wrist, Randy gave a quiet hum as he traced the words with his fingertips. Luck? Not quite. White Fang had never needed luck to get a mission done.

' _I'll bring them home._ ' The message was written in French across his left wrist, near mirroring the words wrapped around his right wrist. Randy knew, even without anything being written in return, that Andrew had seen the words.

"Right, then." Stretching out, Randy gathered his energy around him, pulling on the image of his last time through the forest and the exact spot that he could safely teleport to without wearing himself out. "Time to bring you home."

This time, he would not fail.

::

"You're doing it again." Resisting the urge to sigh, Novan let his gaze slide over to where one of his clan mates was floating in the air next to where he was, grin sharp on her face. "You're looking for them."

"Aren't you young ones supposed to be asleep?" The cheeky grin he was given had Novan aiming a swat at her, pleased when she dodged quicker than she had even a few years ago. "Go to sleep. We leave at the start of the next shift."

" _You're_ not sleeping." That was true, but Novan hardly ever slept when the clan was first settling in. Besides, there were others still awake, whether tending to the fires or checking on the younger ones that were curled together near one of the larger fires. "If they find you, will you go with them?"

"You've been asking this question for quite a while," Novan hummed, settling back in his spot and looking up to the sky that he saw peeking through the trees. The Woods always showed the beautiful greens of their world, but it was only ever this dark when in the Woods themselves. "It will be a while yet before they find me."

Even as he said it, Novan couldn't help but trace his fingers over the words around his left wrist that he couldn't read. It was in one of those human languages of theirs that they used to communicate, but Novan couldn't help but read it as a promise. Sometimes, he really hated the rites of his clan.

"You will, though." Lizzie took a seat beside him, looking up at the sky and making sure her voice was quiet. "You can always bring them to the clan later, when they cut ties with their human lives."

"That could be a long time. You know how they cling to those connections." Just from what they said to him, Novan could tell that his mates were so _human_. He had been surprised when words first showed up, especially when they were in a language he couldn't understand, but he had calmed when they had eventually been able to read and understand the language of the dead.

Still, even with the fact they had been ghosts for so long, they were still human in their nature. Novan already knew he would go back with them when they found him, but it had already been so long… The rites were specific. His mates had to want to find them. They had to prove they were dedicated, but could they do that when they knew so little about this world, still?

"You worry so much," Lizzie sighed, squirming under one of his arms and curling up to him, Novan trying not to laugh. For as much as Lizzie had grown, she was still such a young one. "Your mates will find you, Novan."

"I know." He was worried about them being able to find him, yes, but… Well, he was more worried about _when_ they found him. There were such differences between them. Would they really be so accepting of him? Sighing, Novan tugged Lizzie close and ruffled her hair. Worry wouldn't get him anywhere, and now all he could do was hope for the best.

"I can hear your thoughts from here," Lizzie grumbled, glaring up at him. "Even if they don't find you this time, they're getting closer, right? You have an eternity. You'll find each other."

"A great deal can change within an eternity, Lizzie." It wasn't change that scared Novan. That part was natural. There was no stagnation - not even in death. No, it had never been change to scare him, but it was what might _not_ change. He knew himself well enough to know he would rarely, if ever, change who he was. Those who still thought themselves to be human, though? Humans were such changeable creatures. "They won't find me, yet. All they know is that we'll be in the Woods for the next dozen shifts. That's not enough for them to find me in a world this large."

"You're so _dramatic_." Lizzie had been spending too much time with those new to their clan. "Novan, they love you and you love them. I've seen the looks on your face when you see the writing on your skin. They'll find you, and I'm willing to bet it'll be soon, too."

"Just like I'm willing to bet you'll never stop being an annoyance. Go curl up with the young ones." Novan didn't bother trying to push her off, though, just letting her get more comfortable. For as much as he complained, it was nice to have reassurance when he began doubting.

Sighing and looking back up to the sky, Novan let the back of his head hit the tree he was leaning against. If nothing else, at least it was a nice night.

That was how Novan found himself spending most of their time through the Woods, watching the skies when he wasn't helping the little ones or keeping others from wandering off. Logically he knew that they would find him eventually, but he still made sure to keep the 'good luck' around his wrist fresh as possible, as well as keep an eye out for any new writing that he could understand.

They used those human languages on purpose now to communicate without letting him know what they were saying, but Novan found himself amused and proud of their ingenuity more than anything else. The marveling didn't stop his worry, though. Nor did it stop him from getting more and more anxious as their time in the Woods almost ended.

Not even Lizzie could distract him as they began to reach the border, and everyone else had long ago begun keeping away from him. It was bad enough that his shift, the core of who they were as a clan, began slipping through when he didn't want it to. He was going to worry himself to pieces if he kept this up.

"Hey, hey, did you hear? One of the elders spotted what seems to be a nomad." Lizzie flew over and tackled him from behind, hanging off of his back. The contact did wonders for calming him. "What do you think?"

"Nomads travel through the Woods all the time. It's nothing new," Novan huffed, trying to hide a smile. "Did they bring any harm?"

"No, but I caught a glimpse and he looked _exhausted_. He's probably been traveling nonstop for shifts, now. What do you think? Is he running from something?"

"Most are. Where did they find him?" Novan followed to where Lizzie was pointing _behind_ them. "And we didn't see him before?"

"It is a big place." Shaking his head, Novan flew in the direction, absently counting heads and making sure everyone was accounted for. The last thing he wanted was for someone to be left behind in these Woods. "Ah, there he is!"

"-telling you that I _need_ to find someone in your clan!" A nomad looking for one of them? Odd. Very odd.

"Did he say who he was looking for?" Novan felt Lizzie shake her head from where she was still wrapped around him. "He looks like shit."

"Doesn't he? I thought he was going to collapse before he saw us." From behind, Novan could only tell that the ghost was wearing a white coat and had white hair that was bright as the snow of the Far Frozen. There was something about him, though…

"I'll take it from here, elder one." The elder gave a nod, looking grateful as two of the little ones curled around her and led and pushed her towards the center of the clan. Ah, the little ones were always so worried after her. Novan couldn't blame them. Ta'nel, that particular elder, had been with them since the clan first began wandering. Her time of fading would come soon, no doubt. "Who are you looking for, nomad?"

"Jesus _Christ_ , you clans are so fuckin' sheltered, sometimes!" Ah, not a nomad. He was speaking the language of the dead, but the words were stilted and foreign in his mouth. He was still human. "I'm not a nomad and I need to find someone, but I don't have a name."

"Hmph, he's rude," Lizzie mumbled, Novan about to respond before the ghost turned around and bright blue eyes as clear as the sky of the living world looked into his and… Oh. "Think we can get rid of him?"

"You…" Mate. His mate was in front of him and it was Randy, his mate, and oh, with that white hair and those eyes it could be none other than Randy. They had told him so much about themselves with words flowing freely and Novan knew them so well and he would know them anywhere and it was his _mate_ -

Novan didn't even get to say a word before he was catching Randy and holding him close as soon as he moved. Lizzie slipped off his shoulders and Randy clutched onto him as tightly as possible and oh, no, Lizzie was going to make this dramatic. "Novan- Novan, is that- It is! Everyone! Everyone- Novan's mate found him!"

Novan found himself thinking that Lizzie was very lucky that she was already _dead_. Shaking his head, he shakily ran a hand through Randy's hair, and oh. It was soft. "Randy?" Randy. Randy, his mate, _one_ of his mates, and they had found him. They had _found him_ , but… Why wasn't he saying anything? Was he upset? Novan would certainly be upset. Ah, so _human_. Did they even know of the rites?

Carefully, so _carefully_ , Novan cupped Randy's cheek and lifted his head up, pausing at seeing the man's eyes were closed. At the same time, he realized that the man was heavily leaning against him and his arms were limp around him. "Oh, mate." He was asleep.

"Did he faint?" Lizzie sounded close to cackling, Novan snapping around and giving a quiet growl that did nothing to deter her. "Remember those marks we found the other day? I bet he's been teleporting around looking for you."

"Then he is an idiot," Novan huffed, unable to stop himself from pressing forward and skimming his nose behind Randy's ear. The man curled closer to him even in his sleep. "Would you say the rites have been completed, then?"

"If they argue, I'll bite 'em for you," Lizzie nodded, quite seriously. "See? I told you not to worry!" Humming absently, Novan tugged at the pen that was around Randy's neck, carefully sitting them down before writing across the man's left arm.

' _peace little writer we will be with you soon._ ' There was no response, but Novan knew without a doubt that Andrew had seen the words. He was never the type to allow words to go unseen.

It was almost two complete shifts before Randy had regained his strength and he had yet to stop talking. Novan found it endearing, honestly, with how enthusiastic he was when it came to talking about anything and everything - especially when others started getting annoyed and he only talked louder.

They were now at the border of the Woods and Randy, who had yet to let go of him completely, was tightening his grip on his shirt even more. "I'm kidnapping you. You're coming home with me and you're going to live with me and Andy for a while."

"Okay." Novan watched as Randy puffed himself up, and, really, he would make such a great shifter once Novan had him practice. Ah, Randy seemed to realize Novan had agreed.

"I… Okay? I mean- Just like that? You're not going to argue, or complain, or-" Novan cut him off by nuzzling against his cheek, pleased when he heard Randy purring softly and quietly. "Or that. That works."

"You doubted I would go back with you?" Novan had only been able to talk with Randy for a few shiftlets, but already he knew he loved this man with everything in him. Andrew, he knew, would be the same. "Precious mate… I'm yours as much as you are mine."

Ah, _that_ was delightful. The man, so white and so pure, flushed the same white as his aura and hair, blue eyes near _dazzling_ as he looked away. "Right. Right, okay then- Um, I guess, do you- Do you need to say goodbye, or-"

"There's never any goodbyes among clans," Novan laughed, kissing Randy at the corner of his lips and pleased when the flush went further. "They all knew I would go with you the moment you arrived. I will see them again within this eternity."

"You're so inhuman." Randy's fingers curled through his hair, arms braced against his shoulders as he watched him carefully. "Andy's gonna love you- I mean, more than he does, anyways."

"Mm." Novan relaxed at the soft wonder on Randy's face, pressing close to rub their noses together. "Take me home, mate." And oh, Randy was so very obvious of what he liked. Novan was finding that he very much enjoyed that, as well.

It was also good to know that his mate was _powerful_. It only took a single teleport before they were in front of a library that Novan had read so much about, the words of who she was written across his skin for him to read over and over. Slipping out of Randy's reach, Novan placed a hand against the door and closed his eyes and ah… There she was.

Powerful and cautious as lairs always were, but she wrapped around him near at once, music like he had never heard slipping into him as the doors opened. It was a sweet moment that quickly turned when a book flew out and near hit Randy in the head before he caught it.

"Hey! I wasn't even gone that long this time!" It was a fight to not laugh and oh, his mates fought with their lair? That was… Such precious little humans he had for mates. Allowing Randy to fight with the lair - Vidya, she sweetly whispered to him - Novan slipped inside and quickly began looking around.

For as sudden a change as it was, it still felt so right, somehow, as he flew through this library. It was as if he had done this time after time, slipping through halls and peeking around corners and oh. _Oh_. There he was, surrounded by books, and this was his mate, too.

This was Andrew. This small, sweet little thing who had death lurking in his eyes and fear heavy on his shoulders was _Andrew_. It felt far too easy and far too natural for Novan to slip up behind him, peeking over his shoulder to see he was writing on paper instead of skin. "And what are you working on now, little writer?"

Novan had expected a few different responses considering how much he had learned about them, but he hadn't _quite_ expected to be pushed down to the floor before Andrew was kissing him like it was the first and only kiss they would ever have. Not to say Novan was against it, of course, but it was just _unexpected_.

"Why am I not surprised that you _would_ kiss him as soon as you met." Ah, Randy had finally found them. "Andy, meet our mate, Novan." Novan half expected Andrew to pull back and say _something_ , but Novan was also very okay that he wasn't. "This is where you say it's nice to meet you."

"I'm making up for lost time." Andrew didn't even fully pull away when he did speak, words brushing across Novan's lips as he held him close. "You, _Novan_ , are late."

"A sentiment I'm sure we share." His little humans were put into the world far too late, for his liking. Andrew huffed, nuzzling up to him and ah, such shifter behavior, in these two. His mates were _perfect_ , and yet…

There was almost the sense of something still missing even as the two curled up around him, tracing out words and shapes on his skin that was pressed into their own. It wasn't that anything was wrong with them, but it was as if something was missing from _all_ of them. Novan had his pack, now, yes, but it seemed as if it were incomplete.

Ah, well. He would have time to worry about it later, he supposed. Now was a time for telling his mates everything he could and letting them know that he had wished for them just as much.


	2. Chapter 2

"Santa, no Santa, Santa, no Santa- Does it even _matter_ anymore!" Danny paced back and forth across his bedroom with barely concealed frustration, glaring at the floor every time he heard either his mom or dad start to shout again. It wasn't like they were _honestly_ arguing about the existence of Santa - they were probably arguing about something else and only put it in those terms so they didn't worry their kids. Well, too fucking late for that.

Throwing something at his door and viciously pleased when whatever it was broke, Danny collapsed back onto his bed with a scream muffled against the covers. Of course no one came to check on him, because it seemed that no one cared about the teenager being driven crazy by all the drama. Aiming a punch at the pillow, Danny shook his head sharply as he started remembering his latest dream and no. No. He wasn't going to think about it.

A knock on his door, that he just barely heard, had him raising a pillow- "Hold your fire, I'm unarmed and carry a declaration of peace." Giving a tired little laugh, Danny dropped the pillow as Jazz quickly entered, closing the door on the screaming behind her. "I bring milk and cookies."

"What kind of cookies?" Seeing Santa cookies with all the heads torn off, Danny made room on his bed so Jazz could sit down. "Did you behead them yourself?"

"A few. Some I beheaded before I even put them in the oven." Smiling, Danny gathered a few of the heads and began munching on them. "So. Christmas."

"Christmas," Danny sighed, accepting his glass of milk and looking down to Jazz's arms. They were as clear as the rest of her skin, not a spot of ink to be seen anywhere. "How… How do you handle it? Knowing you don't have a soulmate?"

"Well, I guess I don't think about it very much." Jazz leaned back, not looking any bit offended as she munched on a headless Santa. "I mean, I was sad when I was younger, and I think I threw a few fits, but… It is what it is, right? If people see me as lesser, well, that's their problem for it."

"Yeah." Danny looked to his own covered arms, dreams drifting back to him. They had been happening so much _more_ lately. For the past few months it seemed like he had the same kind of dream near every other night, and always with the same three people. "I guess I could have it worse."

"I don't know." Jazz settled a hand on Danny's arm, giving a light squeeze and a sad smile. "I think maybe not knowing is worse than _knowing_." It… It was definitely a type of hell. God, just- How could Jazz be _fine_ with it now? Soulmates were supposed to be so, so, _so_ important and Jazz didn't have one and Danny might have had one, but he wasn't allowed to _know_ and-

The shouting from downstairs was getting even louder and Danny shook as he started to feel himself reach his limits. If they said _one more word_ about fucking _Santa_ or whatever they were really fighting about- A shove startled him out of his anger for a moment, Jazz smiling a smile that couldn't even really be called a smile due to the fact that there was no joy in it.

"Go on, ghost boy, get out of here for a while. I'll play defense if they start asking questions." God, Danny didn't know what he had done to earn having Jazz as a sister. Setting his glass of milk down, Danny gave Jazz a quick hug before he was changing into Phantom and phasing into the basement and straight into the portal.

Flying was all well and fine, but at least in the Ghost Zone he could avoid everything _Christmas_. Besides, it wasn't like anyone would be looking for him. Tucker and Sam were both spending the break with their families and Jazz had pushed him out herself and other than them there was _no one_ and it wasn't fair, it wasn't fair, _it wasn't fair_.

None of it was _fair_. It just- Why did the Fenton kids have to get so _screwed over_?! Jazz had it bad enough, but Danny couldn't even _look at his skin_. How was that- How was _that_ fair?! He wasn't even… He wasn't allowed to look… What was stopping him now, though?

There was no one alive around in this world and no one who would give a shit about him looking at his skin. Floating down to one of the broken apart rocks, Danny let himself snap back into human form as he stared down at his coat and covered arms. He could barely see the tips of his fingers.

"'S not fair." His words didn't even echo. They were as flat and stilted as his life felt. God, he could look right now and who would be able to stop him? What could his parents even do if he looked? It's not like they would _know_ that he had done anything.

"Enough." It was enough. Turning and twisting, Danny tore himself out of his coat, throwing it down before pushing his sleeves up and he wanted- He _needed_ to know. It wasn't enough to just be content with the knowledge that he had a soulmate, but he needed to know why he wasn't allowed to talk to them.

He was going to find out if it killed…

Oh.

There were… There were three types of writing across his skin. The English was easy to pick out, and there was some of what looked like could have been French, but most of it was… He could _read it_ , but he didn't understand how, considering he had never seen that language in his _life_ , but there were words. There were _so_ many words.

' _stop writing so damn much and just come to the garden._ ' ' _Remember that I need to see Skulker today and we need to gather more food._ ' ' _I'll buy the food, but I am NOT letting you bring back more of that disgusting fruit.' 'so human just try it.' 'I have, and I will never try it again. Stop siding with him over me!_ '

There were conversations like that all over him, and then he saw half scribbled words, notes, reminders, and what looked to be ideas for _stories_. No matter what piece of skin he clawed to look at, there were words there, and- Three. Three different styles of writing and _three_.

Three people in his dreams, three types of writing, and three… Three soulmates? No. No, no, no. Danny couldn't- He couldn't have three soulmates. A case of there being four bound soulmates didn't _exist_. It had to be one soulmate that just changed the writing style a lot. And talked to themselves. And- Okay, there were obviously three people, but maybe it was someone else writing on his soulmate's skin?

He couldn't- He couldn't be that lucky. He couldn't go from being alone to suddenly having _three_ people who were meant to be there for him. He couldn't have been lucky to get the three from the dreams he had been seeing and craving ever since he had the first one. Danny Fenton wasn't that lucky.

Maybe it was a curse. Maybe he was cursed to see the writing of three soulmates, but he didn't belong to any of them. Something had to have gone wrong. Maybe his skin couldn't be written on and his parents had tried to protect him from it, and, well, one way to test _that_ out, but…

If he wrote on his skin and it showed up, then whoever was writing on their skin would see it. They would see it and know Danny was out there and if there were three of them then why would they ever want _Danny_?

Oh, god, he didn't at all know what to do. Curling up and clutching at his sides, Danny shook his head as he pulled his knees up and how was he supposed to deal with this? How was anyone supposed to understand and deal with _this_? It wasn't fair. It wasn't _fair_.

Danny peeked at the words and they were all words of love and promise and he… He wanted that. He wanted that so badly and just- Maybe it wasn't a trick, or a mistake, or a hoax. Maybe the world knew he would be screwed over, so it gave him three soulmates to make up for the fact he went so long without.

Maybe, maybe, maybe, _maybe_ \- Danny stared at the pen held tight in his hand, uncapped and recently used, before staring at where he had written five letters across the palm of his hand because he was so _desperate_ and please… Please see him.

' _Hello?_ '

::

"Honestly, there's a reason I tell them to stop taking showers in the _morning_." Andrew twisted and turned his arm to try and see the idea he had jotted down late last night - early that morning? He honestly wasn't sure who he had used as a notebook, but it was smeared a little and he needed to get it down before it vanished entirely. Dammit, he probably used Novan. Novan loved erasing his ideas just enough to panic him.

Twisting and turning and near falling off the couch, Andrew paused when he caught a glimpse of writing on his palm. "The- The _palm_? Really?" That was the most uncomfortable place to write, but it _was_ the place where the word would quickly and easily be seen. Ah, that probably meant Randy was in trouble- Or not? Why was Randy writing hello? Why was Randy writing hello in handwriting that wasn't his?

It was a single word - five letters - but it was a word that didn't belong to him. That alone was strange, but it was… No. Randy wouldn't- Randy wouldn't just change his writing style for no reason. Novan? No. Novan never wrote in English- _Randy_ hardly wrote in English unless Andrew pushed him to.

Standing up, Andrew let his notebooks crash to the floor as he quickly flew off towards the garden, letting Vidya push and nudge him to a corner where Novan was lying on the ground with Randy half on top of him, the two talking quietly as Novan played with Randy's hair. It was a sweet, warm scene that Andrew would be delighted to join in on as soon as he killed whoever was playing such a stupid practical joke.

"Which one of you did this, then." The two looked over at him and Andrew waved his palm about for emphasis. His _left_ palm so it _couldn't_ have been Novan because Andrew had seen Novan's attempts at writing with his right hand. While the 'hello' was small and shaky, it also was legible. Novan's right hand writing was not. "Well?"

"Did you forget writing something down again?" Novan raised an eyebrow, grunting as Randy suddenly squirmed around to look at his own palm before quickly grabbing Novan's. "What?"

"I didn't write that." Fuck. Andrew was really, really, _really_ hoping for any answer besides that. Randy suddenly licked at Novan's palm, Andrew giving what was probably a hysterical laugh at the face Novan made before Randy was scrubbing at his palm. The word stayed. A quick moment and Randy did the same to his own and _fuck_ , the word was still there.

Seeing Randy's gaze turn on him, Andrew quickly shook his head. "Oh, no. I already know that I didn't-" _Disgusting_. Shuddering sharply, Andrew stuck his tongue out as Randy scrubbed at his hand after _licking_ it and… Word still there. Great. Okay. Lovely. "Any chance one of you got a tattoo?"

"A what?" Novan half glanced at him, staring at his own left palm now and looking… He didn't look surprised. Startled, but not _surprised_. "What's it say?"

"It says hello," Randy said quietly. " _They_ say hello." They. They said. Words on their skin and… Soulmate? "We have another mate."

"I figured as much." Wha- He _figured as much_? "You two didn't notice?"

"How on _earth_ would we have noticed having _another_ soulmate!" Except… There had still felt like there was something missing. One missed step away- Randy looked guilty. "Randall."

"I wasn't going to say anything, but… Not just me, yeah? It feels like there's still something missing?" Well… "A missed step?" Oh, dear. It wasn't all in his head, then.

"It wasn't just you," Novan sighed, nuzzling at Randy's cheek. "Although I still didn't think- Three, sure. There are many mates who share a bond of three, but four?"

"Triads I know, but I've never heard of there being four soulmates at once." Andrew finally sat down beside them, digging in Randy's pockets for a pen before grabbing Novan's hand. "We should write back. We won't find out anything by simply talking about it."

"Is that really such a good idea?" Randy frowned, shaking his head. "We're only _just now_ seeing a fourth set of writing. With Novan, it made sense, but why would a new soulmate be writing to us just now?"

"Maybe they were only recently born," Novan yawned, looking remarkably unconcerned at the fact he just suggested their newest mate could be a _child_. Andrew knew they were ghosts, but that was… Nn. Odd would be putting it lightly. "I was here when you two were born, after all."

"I'm just saying that maybe we should wait-" Randy's words died in his throat as Andrew began to write, because, _really_. They needed to find out eventually, yes?

' _Hello._ ' There, a nice simple way to start and oh, dear, words were appearing very quickly.

' _oh my god there are three of you three thre there are three of you its you three its you three youre there and on my arms and oh my god what is all this writing why is there so much french and what language IS THIS i don't understand it but i can read it oh my god you write so much i'm running out of skin_ '

"What are they saying?" Novan asked, watching curiously as the words appeared around their arms and wherever there was free space and oh, yes, their new soulmate was writing in English.

"They're panicking, mostly," Randy mused, a frown appearing after a moment. "'It's you three.' What does that mean?"

"I'm not certain, but they understand Ghostspeak," Andrew pointed out. "They wouldn't have been able to read Novan's words, if they couldn't."

"Do they know us? Why would they know us? How could they only _just now_ be aware of writing on their arms - it's not like we try to hide the writing."

"Maybe it only began showing up once they died?" Andrew suggested weakly, knowing that was wrong. Novan's writing had shown up on their skin when they were alive, after all. Looking back down, it seemed their soulmate was still writing and writing and write… Oh.

The words had been small and cramped and written as if from a shaking hand, but the ink was smudging, now. It was smudging and dripping in a way that Andrew knew well and their soulmate was _crying_. Andrew pressed a hand against a few of the words, knowing more than anything else that right now their mate was scared and alone and crying and- "Randy."

"Fuck- _Fuck_. I have to go out and track down another soulmate now, don't I!" For as much as he raged, Andrew could see Randy staring at the smeared words with pain and worry, relaxing only when Novan wound an arm around his waist. "We still don't know why they went so long without writing back."

"We'll find out." Andrew picked his pen back up, looking where best to write on Novan. There really _wasn't_ much clear skin left. Perhaps they should get a washcloth.

"If they're dead, then that means I'll have to search the whole Ghost Zone over again. We don't even know where they've formed."

"Well." Andrew grinned, glancing up at his mates. "We had better get started."

::

"I don't like it." Randy glared from where he was curled up in the garden, sleeves pulled low over his arms. Andrew was gushing and writing up a storm to their new 'mate,' telling him everything and anything he could think of. Apparently, their mate was named Danny, but that was all he was willing to share about himself - which, yeah, _that_ wasn't suspicious.

Randy glared for a moment longer before sighing and pushing up a sleeve. The words were like background noise, but it was the handwriting that caught his attention. The words shook when Danny wrote as if he was scared- No… No, it wasn't that he was _scared_ , but it was like… It was like Danny had never written across his skin before. Not once.

Why would that be? Everyone started writing on their skin as soon as they could, eager to meet their soulmate. Danny seemed to have never done so and he was obviously a teenager, at the very least, so why was he only just now writing to them? Why did it seem as if he had only just discovered they _existed_? There were too many unknown variables and Randy didn't like the unknown. Not when it could hurt his mates.

"Cautious as always, my mate?" Startling, Randy looked up to see Novan floating in front of him. A flash and the ghost was moving to sit beside him, nuzzling at his jaw and reducing Randy into a puddle of purring mush. Randy hated how much he loved it.

"Yeah, well, I have _reason_ to be." Teeth caught on a sensitive spot and Randy _melted_ , not putting up an ounce of fight as Novan dragged him into his lap, arms tight around him. "Three. I can understand three- There's a _precedent_ for three, but four?" Randy shook his head, slow at first and then more aggressively.

"It's unheard of. It's- It's strange. It's weird. It doesn't make _sense_." Novan, at least, had always had words upon their skin, but this Danny? There had been nothing. It wasn't right. It didn't make sense- None of it made _sense_.

"Easy there, puppy." Fuck. Randy hated how much that stupid nickname had him calming down and oh _kay_ , Novan was nuzzling at a spot on his neck that made it very difficult to think for a long few moments. Maybe a few minutes. It was really nice. "You can sense it, too."

"Yeah. Yeah, I can." Randy knew emotions. He knew that Andrew was buzzing with excitement and curiosity. He knew that Novan was settled with calm and caution and a hint of wonder. Danny, though… Now he knew what that constant sense of fear had always been- Now he knew where that fear _came_ from.

"This is just another mate of ours that needs protection." Dammit. Novan had only been with them for a few months and already he knew enough about Randy to know he had a _thing_ about protecting. He was probably cheating. "And you're so good at protecting us, aren't you, puppy?"

"That? That's cheating." That was _horrible_ cheating, because now Randy was already putting a list together of what he needed, and he felt it. He had felt it since he had returned with Novan, but it was stronger, now. That need. That pull. The sense that he had to find their mate. "It worked, but it was _cheating_."

"Mm, let them speak a while longer." Novan nodded to where words were still appearing across their skin. "Our little writer can find out more than we can, right now."

"Andy gets too excited over new things," Randy sighed, settling down in Novan's lap and tugging at his shirt collar before pulling him into a kiss. "How'd you know I'd be here sulking?"

"It's the same place you were last week when you and Andrew got into a fight." Oh. Well. Novan was starting to know them _very_ well, wasn't he? "That and Vidya let me know."

"You're awful." Randy couldn't stop his laughter, anyways, resting his head against Novan's check and humming softly as he heard it beating away. "It took almost thirty years to find you… How long do you think it'll take to find Danny?"

"Less," Novan snorted, the sound feral and wild. He had told them that he was from a shifter clan, but Randy had yet to see him shift. He was hoping he could startle Novan into it, but so far _nothing_ surprised that man. "I was bound by the rites of my clan and elders. Danny, however, seems like he might be the type to do whatever he wants."

"I want to say that you're just guessing, but your guesses are usually pretty accurate." Randy sighed, closing his eyes and there it was. A sense of fear and wonder and curiosity and hope and… Even the hope was scared. Fuck. Randy was already fucking attached. "I'm going to find him."

"And steal him away, too, no doubt." Not bothering to deny it, Randy finally pushed himself up, snagging a kiss from Novan as he did so.

If there are anymore soulmates after Danny, then _you two_ can go hunt for them."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Novan grinned, everything about him sharp as he tugged Randy back into another kiss and okay. Randy would just- He would sit back down for a little bit longer. Just a bit. "Didn't I tell you that you should wait for a while?"

"Yeah, but-" Randy was cut off with a kiss, which, okay, that probably shouldn't be effective considering how often they did it, but it was _effective_. "I can wait until tomorrow, I guess."

"Perfect."

::

"Should I be worried about how quickly you're picking up on French and English?" It was hard to resist the urge to laugh. His mates were so _cautious_ about things. Mm, no, not cautious. Suspicious might be the better word.

"I thought you enjoyed it when others gained knowledge." Darting in quick, Novan pressed a kiss right below Andrew's right ear, playing with the ends of his hair. It did wonders in Andrew slumping against him, now much more relaxed. "Has he said anything new?"

"Which he," Andrew shot back, shuddering as Novan kissed at his neck in retaliation. "Randy says he's been checking with the others ghosts to see if anyone formed recently. No luck, so far. Danny's been talking about his friends, Sam and Tucker."

"Names you don't know?" The other shook his head, Novan hiding a frown. Everything Danny talked about seemed to be… It was strange. He gave such limited information, as if afraid of them finding out _anything_ about him. "Any slips to where he's staying?"

"None we can use," Andrew sighed, shaking his head. "If possible then he's worse than _you_." Andrew whacked the back of Novan's head when Novan bit down on his neck, but he could still hear Andrew's uneven breathing. "And _you_ are worse than _Randy_."

"Maybe." Novan sat up and pulled Andrew into his lap, curling around him with a small sigh. For as much as he adored his mates and his growing pack, it was so strange to go from his clan to such a small place. It wasn't bad, though.

"You're thinking about your clan." Glancing down, he saw Andrew was looking up at him, no judgement in his gaze. "You miss them."

"Yes." Novan sighed, closing his eyes. "It's different to be here when before I was surrounded by so many." Opening his eyes, he looked directly into Andrew's before turning him around to bring him into as sweet a kiss as he could. "I don't regret it, though."

"I'm glad." That was about all the warning he was given before Andrew was making the kiss not so sweet. Although, really, Novan wasn't against _that_ , so much. It was interesting how different they were, at times.

While Randy was protective and fierce when fighting, he gave in so _easily_ when the two of them sought him out. Novan barely had to kiss him before Randy was giving in and arching into whatever touch he was given. Andrew, on the other hand… Well, Andrew was very much the type to fight him for every scrap of control possible and enjoy every second of it.

They were both such cute little things, but they were so _troublesome_. Danny, he could tell, would be just the same, and he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it. It was… It was interesting, though. Randy and him seemed to have the most in common when it came to their personality, but there was something about Andrew that Novan was very, _very_ much attracted to.

Maybe it was that death that lurked in Andrew's eyes and the twitch of his fingers. It was a look that belonged to one that should be so much older than him, but Andrew wore it wonderfully well.

"Get out of your head." The words were more growl than anything, Novan flinching as nails tore into his skin and teeth sunk into his neck and oh, that- That was very much another reason why he was in no way regretting coming here. "You and Randy are too much alike."

"Is that a complaint?" Novan tugged at the shift that constantly swirled around him, focusing it on his teeth before he was slipping free enough to place a matching mark on Andrew's neck. The high, keening whine he gave was _addicting_. "Mm, that doesn't sound like complaining, to me."

"You're _awful_." Andrew was crawling more into his lap, anyways, arms moving to wrap tightly around his shoulders. "Make it up to me."

Novan laughed, leading Andrew into another kiss. While he loved relaxing with his mates and hearing Andrew read his own written novels to him in a language Novan would understand, _these_ moments just couldn't be beaten.

"Andrew." Novan cupped Andrew's cheeks, rubbing at them with his palms and feeling himself warm as Andrew nuzzled into the touch without a thought. "I'll always miss my clan for as long as I'm away, but you two are worth every second of that."

"So eloquent, and yet this is from the same man who complains when I write too much." Andrew's face was flushed with the color of his powers, a brilliant purple spreading across his face and no doubt going down to his shoulders.

"I complain when my arm is more ink than skin," Novan laughed, smile falling into something warm. "We'll find him, my little writer. We'll find our mate and bring him home where he'll be safe."

"I know." Andrew smiled weakly. "Still… Allow me my worries?"

"For as long as you need."

Such human mates, but Novan wouldn't change them for the world. Besides, it wasn't a bad thing to remember that sometimes they all needed to be human. Novan had been once too, after all. Maybe he'd tell them that story, one day.

For now, he was content in showing Andrew the attention he craved, soothing his worries away and knowing that Randy would be back with their mate soon enough. He had a feeling that Danny would be the type to attract troubles aplenty, but… It was going to be a good future, for them.


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay, alright- Okay, Fenton, you can do this. Yeah- You can so do this. Definitely. Totally." Taking a deep, steadying breath, Danny raised his hand and… Nope, no, couldn't do this. "She's probably busy, I'll just ask her-"

"Danny?" Shit. "Are you standing outside of my door because you broke something or because you need advice?" Aah… How quickly could he break something? "Right. Advice."

"Hey, what- I didn't even say anything, yet!" The look she gave him spoke more than words ever would. It kind of made him feel like he wanted to slink off somewhere dark and lick his wounds. "Okay, so, _maybe_ I need some advice from you."

"Right. Sam, Tucker, or ghost advice?" It said a lot that those were his only three options. "Or…" Jazz glanced to where Danny was tightly gripping the front of his coat, and, okay, so, yes, he had gone back to wearing his coat, but, really. _Three_ types of writing? That was something people would notice.

"Remember that talk we had on Christmas or whatever? About soulmates?" At her nod, Danny swallowed, and, right. Instead of continuing, he pushed up the sleeve of his coat and showed off his left arm. "I wanted to know."

"Oh… Oh, Danny." Jazz didn't waste a second in pulling him in for a hug and, wow, okay. Danny was really bad off if he wasn't even fighting against that. "Right. Soulmate advice, then- Of all the things you have to ask for advice it's the one thing where I have _no_ personal experience."

"Think of it as a compliment?" Danny tried weakly, letting himself be pulled into the room. "Jazz, I- I mean- There's _three_ \- It's the same as those dreams I told you about once and I haven't even told Sam and Tucker and there's _three of them_ -"

"Okay, okay- Hey, deep breaths, Danny, come on, take a deep breath in." Oh, right, yeah, hyperventilating, okay- Breathing. Right. He could do that. Focusing back on Jazz, he frowned at seeing she didn't seem as surprised as she should be.

"Jazz…" She had always helped keep his skin covered. Danny thought it was just where their parents had told her how important it was, but what if it was something _different_ \- "How long-"

"No- No, no, no, I didn't know about _this_." Jazz bit her lip, glancing to her door and lowering her voice and oh, wow. Not much made her this scared of being overheard. "I knew that you had a soulmate, but Mom and Dad had me help you hide it because writing started showing up the minute you were born, Danny. _Sentence_ writing- Adult sentence writing."

"Oh." Oh. Okay. Right. So on top of the three soulmates, it seemed they were all _way_ out of his age range. He took back whatever kind things he had to say about fate. Fate was a _bitch_. "Three-"

"I didn't know that part." Measuring Jazz's look and words, Danny finally gave a nod. Jazz wouldn't lie to him about this. He knew that much. "Did you- Have you written to them?"

"A… A little." Shaking his head quickly to cut her off, Danny continued speaking. "Nothing important or anything about myself. All they really know is that my name is Danny and I have two friends named Sam and Tucker, that's- That's it, really. I've been- I've been way too scared to tell them anything else."

"You win." Wha- "You're definitely the one with the worst luck when it comes to soulmates." Oh, well as long as he _won_.

"Gee, yeah, thanks, that helps _so much_ right now." He hadn't been expecting much else, though. Jazz had as little experience in all of this as he did, but she was also _Jazz_. She at least would keep his secret from everyone.

"Mom and Dad don't know yet?" Right. Yeah. Danny was _definitely_ going to tell them that he had written to his mates. "Okay, okay, no need for the looks. Right. Most important question."

"Where's the best place to buy some brain bleach?" A disappointing look had Danny groaning. "Alright, okay, what's the most important question?"

"What are you going to do now?" That… Christmas had been almost a month and a half ago, but Danny _still_ didn't have an answer to a question like that. It was all he could do to answer the questions they gave him - or ignore them - and keep his skin covered from everyone else.

It wasn't the fact he was afraid he had three mates that was getting to him, though. It wasn't fear of _them_ that kept him from saying anything that could let them find him. No, it was… Why would they want _him_?

Just from the conversations he read on his skin, he saw that the three of them were so _close_. Randy, Andrew, and Novan. He knew their names, and thanks to the conversations, he knew so many little things. Andrew was the one who was always writing down story ideas, Randy was the one who would make lists of things they needed to get and crossed them off or wrote over them instead of wiping them off, and Novan was the one who always fell asleep in the garden.

He knew these little snippets of their lives and that scared him because he wanted to be a _part of it_. There… There couldn't be any room for him there, though. They would take one look at him, the scared fifteen-year-old with too many secrets, and run the other way as fast as possible.

"That's your 'I'm making a bad decision face.'" Looking up to Jazz, Danny gave her a dazzling grin. "And that's your 'I'm about to lie' face."

"C'mon, Jazz, when do I ever make decisions _that_ bad." Ghost portal. "Anymore." The glare she gave him only made him give a wider grin. "Don't worry. I think I know what I'm going to do, now."

Danny would rather live never knowing the true answer than finding out the one he _didn't_ want. He had lived fifteen years not even knowing he had so many soulmates. Surely keeping his distance would be easy, right?

Right.

Except not right. It wasn't at all easy and Danny felt like he was in _hell_ \- especially when he saw the conversations of how hard Randy seemed to be searching for him. It was so- He thought people searching dramatically for their soulmates was only in movies! Apparently not, though, because his soulmates were _idiots_.

He knew it had been months since he discovered the writing on his arm, but it felt like only days- Or, no, maybe it felt like years? All Danny knew was that he was constantly distracted, constantly trying to weigh what was safe to say and what wasn't, and constantly just _tired_ of it all.

Although, he hadn't realized how long it had been until he woke up and realized he was sixteen, that day.

"Well, then." Danny looked down to his arms, questions from all three of them wrapped around him, begging, pleading, and praying for answers. Danny barely even paused as he pulled his sleeves low over his arms. "Happy birthday to me."

It was better this way for all of them.

::

It just didn't make sense. Andrew knew their situation was unique and complicated, of course, but it didn't make sense as to why Danny was doing everything he could to hide from them! Besides the fact they knew his name was Danny, all they seemed to know was the name of his friends, which could very well be fake, and the fact his favorite color was blue. All in all, they hadn't learned anything that would help them _find_ Danny. Fuck, maybe even _that_ name was fake.

"You're worrying, again." Tossing a glare over to Novan, Andrew felt himself melt when the man flew over to wrap his arms around him, nuzzling at his cheek. "When will you two give up the notion of time passed."

"Yes, yes, the old theory that time is a human illusion." Andrew near slapped Novan as he waved his hand about because he was nervous, and he waved his hands when nervous and what if they didn't _find him_. "I'll be sure to tell Randy you're complaining again so he can yell at you with more of his science facts, later."

Novan gave a shrug. "It's easy enough to distract him." Mm, that was true. All Novan really needed to do was slip close, brush his lips against Randy's, and whisper a few _promises_ and Randy completely forgot whatever conversation they had been having. "Our language is beginning to come easier to you."

"Don't patronize me," Andrew huffed, accepting the kiss to his cheek with a smile. "It's… It's odd. I know it comes to you and others naturally, but it- It's a language I instinctively know how to use flawlessly, but I don't understand _how_ I know it."

"That's where your human nature is getting in the way," Novan laughed, Andrew huffing as he looked down to his arms. Danny hadn't written to them in weeks, now.

"Yes, yes, you and your hatred of 'human nature.' Do you really hate humans that badly?" Not that Andrew would blame him if he did. Humans were… There was a reason the Priest had done his job so well.

"Not at all." Novan pressed a kiss to a spot that had Andrew flushing and squirming, clearing his throat and trying to keep his thoughts focused. "I quite adore them, at times."

"Ri-ght!" If the embarrassment didn't kill him, then Andrew was going to kill Novan. "Danny- We should be talking about Danny."

"He hasn't told us much about himself, but he has told us plenty about each other." Novan slipped a hand down, tracing out half-erased words of where Danny had left various comments on- Well, on everything.

Months had passed and while Danny had hardly ever talked about himself, he had spent so much time commenting on Andrew's ideas, taking sides in their 'fights,' and worming his way in between them all so _effortlessly_. It had been weeks since he had written more than a couple of words, though.

"I'm worried about him." Andrew half-heard Novan saying _something_ , but he didn't bother to listen when he saw words start to appear on his skin- When he saw _Danny's_ words start to appear. When he read them, he felt his heart drop.

"Andrew?" Tugging himself out of Novan's grip, Andrew started pacing the study, looking around for something he could use to- To _what_. There was nothing he could _do_! He just had to sit back and let everyone else take care of everything and he was so _sick_ of being on the sidelines and he _hated it_ -

Hands grabbed his and Andrew jerked to a stop, glaring at where Novan was looking at him calmly. That, surprisingly, did more to calm him down than anything else. They had told Novan who they had been, and he hadn't even batted an eye. That was probably what had made Andrew fall in love with him more than anything else. No doubt Novan saw the Priest lurking in his eyes, and all he did was hold his hands more tightly and kiss the tip of his nose.

"Quit that," Andrew huffed at the sweet gesture before he felt his sudden spike of frustration leave him as soon as it had appeared, and, really, those two were too good at that. Collapsing against Novan's chest, Andrew sighed quietly. "It's his birthday, today."

No doubt the look on Novan's face was mirrored on his own. It wasn't just frustration, but it was _pain_. "He still celebrates his birthdays," Novan said quietly, closing his eyes. "His passing must have been recent."

"Within the last few years, at least," Andrew groaned before he went dead silent and oh… Oh. Looking to Novan, he near tackled the man backwards as he patted him down for a pen, finally grabbing one and writing in French quickly.

"Careful, little writer, my arm only bends so much that way." Luckily, Novan seemed more amused than upset. "What are you writing?"

"Danny. His name is Danny, his birthday is April 3rd, he died recently, he's American, and he seems to live in the Midwest. That's all Randy needs."

As predicted, it took only half a minute for a response to show up. ' _That's all I need_.' Andrew had been the one to charge in when they were younger, but Randy? Oh… White Fang had been more deadly than the Priest could ever dare _dream_ of.

"He can find him with only that?" Novan looked to the writing before he _grinned_. "You two are incredible."

"Yes, we are." Andrew preened, smile falling a bit as he looked back to Danny's small and cramped writing. "Just a little longer, mon cher."

No matter what, they would bring their mate home as soon as possible.

::

There were approximately 65,377,684 people who lived in the Midwest within the United States and, what with Danny being such a popular name, that left a lot of room to search. Luckily, Randy was very good with computers. Not so luckily, that still left a lot of wiggle room to search through.

"You, mon douce, are making my job very difficult." There were some matches that looked like they might be right, but nothing that ever _felt_ right. He had been searching the Ghost Zone for months, after all, and hadn't seen hide nor hair of any new ghosts. Perhaps their mate was living in the human world? That… That left a very bad taste in his mouth.

Ghosts _needed_ spectral energy to survive which meant they needed to be in the Ghost Zone. That was why the 'ghosts' as humans knew them were so hard to find evidence for. Perhaps once they had been ghosts, but without energy given to them, they became memories and impressions that eventually faded away. Randy would _not_ let that happen to their mate.

He could write to them and seemed perfectly coherent, so that meant he still had a lot of energy. Either he had died in the last year, or he was near a source of spectral energy that could keep him stable. There were only a few places like that in the world, but the only one that was in the Midwest that Randy knew of was…

Oh. It couldn't be that simple. There was no way it was right there in front of them the whole time, but… A stable portal. A stable ghost portal that was only a few miles from where they lived and led straight to Amity Park, Illinois, the town that had become infamous for ghosts attacks that no one else believed in.

If a ghost died elsewhere and found himself in Amity Park, he wouldn't _need_ the Ghost Zone as long as he stayed close to the portal and conserved his energy. No doubt he was starving and getting weak, but he would be okay. If their Danny had found his way to Amity Park-

' _I might have a lead._ ' Amity Park. It took more energy than he would have liked to teleport that far, but Randy managed it without too much of a dip in his powers.

' _Where? Can you find him today? Randy, you need to find him soon. Randy, please._ ' Ah, Andrew was letting his worries get the best of him.

' _Novan stop letting Andrew drink coffee. Andy relax. I won't let our mate be alone any longer._ ' April 3rd in Amity Park. Alright. Where would a new ghost spend their birthday- Birthday. Recently dead. Danny had begun talking to them at Christmas, so maybe that's around the time he died? If he was under 18, then his family could have chosen to not allow his obituary to be released…

Right. If he was under 18, then the best place to check first would be the local high school. A quick look around town showed there to be three of them, but the busiest seemed to be Casper High and _christ_. Did they really name that school _Casper_ \- This town had been _asking_ for the ghost portal to open here.

' _I'll update in two hours._ ' Capping his pen, Randy closed his eyes and breathed out, focusing on an image of himself as a teenager. He and Novan had been practicing his shifting powers before he left, and while Novan was strictly a wolf shifter, the same lessons could be applied to applying an illusion over his form. It wasn't something Randy liked doing where it took so much energy, but hopefully he would only need it for a few good minutes.

Cracking his eyes open, and seeing tan skin and no glow, Randy nodded to himself and quickly slid his holster belt off and into the bag he had around him. A second of thought and he took his coat off and turned it inside out, letting black show instead of white. Nothing he could do about the hair, but, well, that was probably normal in this day and age.

Right. Now how to ask about a dead kid… Spotting a quick clock, it seemed school hadn't started yet, so that left him plenty of time to check in with a few people. Perhaps blunt would work best. If he pretended to be a class partner on a project and it turned out it _was_ their Danny, then he should have already known about the death. Mm. Returning friend from out of state?

"As soon as I find that little freak I'm gonna punch his lights out!" Aah, high school. How nice to see American movies had gotten some parts of it right. "Fenturd! I'm coming for you!"

"Oh, now you're just being dramatic." A group of what seemed to be the 'popular' students were walking towards the stairs. The girl who had spoken was filing her nails and the one that had been screaming was covered in what seemed to be the remains of coffee and, ah. Randy saw where this was going. "It's _Danny_. He's terrified of you and probably only bumped into you while running away from somebody else." Danny- _Danny_.

"He's not that bad." Randy quickly followed after the group, a blonde girl beside the other one talking now. "I think he's cute. You know, in a scared puppy sort of way."

"Um, excuse me?" Transfer student from France, accent, Junior, he and his family recently moved here at the recommendation of a family friend. "I'm- Sorry, you said the name Danny, and that's kind of who I'm looking for. Do you know where he is?"

"Your guess is as good as ours," one of them snickered. "If you need him, better find him before Dash does." Ah, how clever, the football looking one was named Dash. Christ. _Americans_.

"I've seen you around before, haven't I?" The one who had been filing her nails was looking at him 'curiously,' but Randy could see that she was trying to catch him in a lie. Cute.

"I doubt it. I only moved here a few days ago- It's technically my first day and my mother told me to find Danny. Family friends." Randy made a face as if this was the most embarrassing them to ever happen to him. "I figure I can at least say hi so she'll believe I tried."

"Guess you just look familiar." Mm, this girl would have had potential in the Sect. Randy wasn't sure he liked or hated her, yet. "Fenton is usually hanging out with those loser friends of his in the library." Fen… Fenton.

"Sam and Tucker, right?" No. No, no, no, no, it couldn't be- It _couldn't be_. There was no way- That wasn't luck, that was _damnation_.

"Oh, you actually do know him, then." The girl nodded to herself before pointing down a hall. "Library is that way."

"Thanks." Randy hoped his voice was steady, because the rest of him wasn't at all. Their mate was meant to be dead, not- _Fenton_. Every ghost in the goddamn Ghost Zone, at least the ones who lived near the portal, knew who that was. It was the _Fenton Portal_.

Fuck- _Fuck_. Fenton. Danny Fenton. Danny _Phantom_. He hadn't even thought- He had never even thought to _glance_ at _Phantom_. Phantom was an oddity that not even Randy was willing to question, a ghostly teenager who played at being hero by protecting Amity Park. Randy had heard all the rumors and complaining, but he had never thought to piece it together. He had only heard him referred to as Danny Phantom once, and that was when Plasmius was complaining about him when contracting Randy for a job. He had never believed-

Illusion snapping off of him, Randy turned himself invisible before flying down the hallway as fast as he could, phasing into the library and looking around before he saw three teenagers sitting together in a faraway corner and talking quietly. He could tell who was Sam and who was Tucker easily enough, but the one in the middle…

A wisp of blue mist seemed to slip out of the teen's lips, Randy watching as Danny - _Danny_ \- groaned and stood up. "Hang on, guys. You think the ghosts would stop bothering me this early in the morning."

"You need to be more of a morning person," Sam teased, Danny sticking his tongue out and rushing off with a grin behind a stack of shelves, Randy seeing a slip of light disappear behind them.

Speeding up and phasing through the roof to the top of the school, Randy's invisibility flickered out and no- No, no, no. They had thought of every scenario, every possibility, every idea on what it would mean to find their fourth mate and bring him home, but he was-

"Huh. Haven't seen you before." He was still alive. Their mate- If Novan thought _they_ were human- Danny Fenton- Danny _Phantom_ was still alive. "Alright. Out with it, then. Are you here to fight? Because dude, let me tell you, I have some aggression to work out if that's the case-"

"No- No, I'm not here to fight." He was alive and his parents were ghost hunters. How was he half ghost? Plasmius was, yes, but he had thought the circumstances were an anomaly. A singular impossibility that could never again be repeated.

A flash of black and white caused him to look up out of instinct, Randy swallowing when he saw bright green eyes that reminded him of Andrew looking into his own. "Hey, do I- Do I know you?" The teen glanced to his arms, Randy doing nothing to hide the words that were peeking out from pushed up sleeves.

"I'm not here to fight you." The words, he knew, were mirrored on Danny's own skin. "I'm… Well, I suppose I'm here to wish you a happy birthday."

Danny looked from his arms back to his face, eyes wide and scared and oh… Oh, Danny. He was so _terrified_. Randy could feel his fear from here and it was like nothing he had ever felt from one so young. He couldn't be older than sixteen and his fear was that of someone so much older than him. "You're… You're Randy."

"Hello, sweet one." Their fourth mate was a scared teenager who was half ghost and lived in a house with ghost hunters and his fear was heavy enough to make Randy struggle for breath. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Three seconds went by and Danny was suddenly gone from his sight.

::

Novan watched the doors patiently and silently from the top of one of Vidya's countless bookcases. The same could not be said for the mate that was pacing in front of the doors and muttering under his breath in a multitude of languages. Surprisingly, there were quite a few living languages he knew.

"Andrew." The man looked back at him for quicker than a moment before he was pacing again, curled up tight and looking ready to lash out at the next threat to get near him. "They'll be here soon, mate."

"I know- I _know_ , but what if something goes wrong? We don't know anything! All Randy said was that he had a lead! It could still be _days_ before he finds Danny!"

"I'm unwilling to believe that it would take 'days' for Randy to find our mate. He found me, after all." And Novan and his clan… The clans were always difficult to find, even for those who called this world home. For Randy to find him as he did and pass the rites? It may have taken a while, but there were rites that had taken far longer than theirs.

"After thirty years." Aah, they were still enraged by the time. His sweet humans. "I know. I know Randy will find him, but what if…" Andrew bit his lip, looking up at Novan and looking small and scared as one of the ghostlings might. "What if Danny doesn't want to go with him?"

"Then we'll go from there." A quick teleport and Novan was catching Andrew's hands as he took a startled step back, using his surprise to draw him into a rough kiss that gave him control immediately. It took a few seconds, but Andrew slowly relaxed against him, Novan smirking as he parted. "Easy, little writer. You, as well as your mates, aren't the type to give up so easily."

"Yes, but-" A spike of pure energy cut Andrew off, Novan tensing before he saw Randy phase through the doors and into Vidya, skidding to a stop and hitting the floor and _gasping_ for breath. "Randy!"

Andrew was at his side in a flash, curling around him and rubbing at his back and mumbling for him to breathe. Novan lingered on the edges, unwilling to speak, yet. It was the job of a human to comfort another. They may be dead, but they were not a part of Novan's world yet.

It took longer than Novan wanted before Randy was getting control of himself, reaching a hand out towards him. Novan was sitting by their sides in the next moment, twining their hands and nuzzling at Randy's cheek. "What happened?"

"Where's…" Andrew glanced around, but there was no one in the room but them. "Randy, what happened? Where-"

"Fenton." The name made no sense to him, but Andrew's eyes suddenly widened before he frowned.

"You ran into one of the- What were you doing in Amity Park? You know it's dangerous where ghost hunters _swarm_ that town-"

"Danny." Alright, Fenton was the name of a ghost hunter. He hadn't heard much about 'ghost hunters,' but he had heard a few things from ghosts and nomads his clan had passed by. "Danny _Fenton_."

"No." Andrew shook his head, slowly, at first, and then more sternly. "He can read Novan's writing- He can read Ghostspeak. There's no way-"

"Danny Fenton. Danny _Phantom_." Randy's voice was quiet and weak, but even _that_ name was one Novan knew.

"Phantom?" The two looked at him, Novan raising an eyebrow. "He's still a ghostling, but I've heard well enough of him. He defeated the past King." His clan had hidden deep when Pariah emerged, but news had travelled quickly of the hero who had defeated him. "What does this have to do with this ghost hunter Fenton?"

"Have you… Have you ever heard of a ghost called Plasmius?" Plasmius… There had been a rumor a few eclipses ago. "Vlad Plasmius."

"A rumor- Or perhaps a fairy tale." A living human who was said to tumble into their world and emerge with their powers. A man who still had a beating heart, but had the appearance of the dead themselves. Novan thought it was a myth, but… Fenton. Phantom. Both named Danny. "Randy, what did you find out."

"Our mate's still alive." Just a few words and they seemed to change _everything_. Novan didn't let go of Randy's hand as the man talked about what he had found. The half-ghost 'hero' who protected his home from the ghosts that would cause it home. The _half-ghost_ who was _still alive_. A scared teenager not even an adult who had fear that could collapse the shoulders of kings and could still put on a smile in front of his friends. A scared teenager who was their _mate_.

"We… We need to talk to him." Andrew swallowed, voice getting stronger. "We need to find a way to talk to him and explain everything- We just need him to listen for a little bit."

"And how, exactly, do you plan to pull that one off? He _knows_ who I am. He knows that his mates know where he is. He's probably going to be hiding more than ever, now! He's a Fenton and half-ghost, he would know how to hide from us-"

"Then we can go with you! It'll just be like going undercover until we find him-"

"You can't work your illusion, yet!" Ah, that was right. Andrew was clever, but he had too much power. "You can't even hide your signature, and this is a town trained to handle _ghosts_."

"This is too much for you to do on your own." There was a growl in Andrew's throat, Novan finding it a touch amusing. "You can't go alone-"

"I'll go with him." Oh? It was that easy to quiet them, hm? That would have been helpful to know in their other 'fights.'

"Novan- There's _no way_ that _you_ can blend in-"

"I can work an illusion and hide my signature." It wasn't something he typically enjoyed doing, but he could pass for a human if he needed to. Rolling his eyes as the two shared a look, Novan looked to Randy. "Andrew's right. You won't do this on your own."

"It's still dangerous! You grew up in a clan and you don't know the human world like we do. You could get seriously hurt-"

"I was human once, too." Ah, and that's why he had yet to tell them. Randy was staring at him with wide eyes while Andrew was looking at him in suspicion. "It was long before you would ever appear in the world. Long enough I stopped counting the… The centuries." He had been in his clan so long, sometimes he forgot there was a before.

"Novan… How old are you?" Ah, now there was a question. Novan laughed to himself, pulling Andrew over to kiss at his cheek.

"I died not far into my adulthood and I have not changed sense." The looks told him well enough what they thought of that answer. "This isn't the time for my story, mates. Right now, we have another mate we need worry about."

"He's right," Randy said quietly. "We need to find Danny and talk to him- Try and help him. That fear…" Randy shook his head. "If we give him space, then he'll shut himself down."

"Fine- Yes, you're right." Andrew sighed, shoulders dropping as he looked between them. "Be safe, the two of you."

"We'll return home to you, mate," Novan hummed, drawing Andrew into a kiss that soothed him at once. Novan made sure to do the same to Randy, since it had been too long. They calmed so easily for him. "We'll bring Danny, as well."

"I know." Andrew finally stood up, huffing as he brushed himself off. "Honestly, you couldn't collapse on a couch?"

It didn't take long for Novan and Randy to gather themselves together and get to the human world, Novan hiding his signature and forcing his illusion on before they were phasing through to a room of bright silver and landing… Novan didn't know _where_ they were.

"Novan? Hey, you okay?" Randy was looking at him in worry, Novan giving a slow nod as he looked around and oh, ancients. This… This was certainly not the living world that _he_ remembered. "I know you said we don't have time to talk about it, but do you remember the time when you were alive?"

"I…" Novan shook his head to clear it, focusing back on Randy. "A time where Kings ruled freely and stone touched the sky." He… He remembered so little, but somedays, if he tried… "There was… Yes. There was a war."

"Medieval ages, most likely, then. You were probably in England or somewhere around there." Humming, Novan pressed his hand against his chest, just below his heart. Randy frowned at him, tapping his hand. "Novan? Are you alright?"

"Mm, I was just remembering something." He had died in a war. A sword… Yes. It had been a sword. It had missed his heart just enough that he had bled out on the battlefield for what felt like an eternity. He had mourned the fact that he had never even seen the world before leaving it. "Do you know where to start searching?"

"Technically, he lives in that house." Turning around, Novan blinked up at the 'house.' "He doesn't seem to be there, right now, though. He _should_ be at school, still, so we can try tracking him down there to see how he's doing."

"Very well." Novan turned and began walking in the direction Randy pointed, the ground unfamiliar under him. It was definitely nothing like rock or grass or even the carpet of Vidya.

"Hey- _Novan_!" Jerking up at how panicked his mate sounded, Novan paused at seeing some- Some _thing_ was speeding towards him and making a great deal of noise. Letting himself phase through it, Novan raised an eyebrow as it swerved along the ground. It didn't seem to be coming back, whatever it was, and it hadn't been living, really- "Jesus _Christ_."

"That was odd." Novan frowned as Randy pulled him onto some different colored ground, looking to be bristling. "Are you alright, mate?"

"Yeah, just- Just don't walk out into the street." Mm. This might be more difficult than he thought with how much the living world had changed, but…

HIs pack was crying for their lost mate. Andrew was no doubt pacing his lair, Randy looked strained and tense beside him, and even Novan felt his shift prickling at his skin and begging to come out. His pack was crying, and Novan had never been able to stand aside in a case such as that.

Besides, if Randy was right about their mate's fear… No one that young should ever be that afraid.


	4. Chapter 4

"Dude, are you alright? You've been weird since that ghost fight this morning." Flinching at Tucker's words, Danny looked over at him and shit, shit, shit. Okay, what excuse- "There! You keep flinching at everything and looking like you're about to be dragged to the gallows or something!"

"Might be more appropriate to use electric chair, there," Sam mused, Danny managing a laugh at Tucker's look of dramatic horror. "I call them as I see them. Now, Danny dearest-"

"Guys, it's nothing." Right. Okay. Lie too big to sell. "I'm just… I'm a little shaken up about _something_ , but it's nothing that's going to hurt any of us."

"Yeah, we've heard stuff like that before." Mm, except this time- See, _this time_ , Danny was telling the truth. It wasn't- He _probably_ wouldn't be hurt, just- Fuck. _Fuck_. How had they- They shouldn't have been able to find him- Ghosts. His mates were _ghosts_. "You'll tell us if it gets to be too much?"

"Come on, guys, I'm not that bad anymore. You know I trust you two." Truth without a promise. Danny was getting good at that. "Now, how badly is Lancer about to screw us over with this test?"

Getting them safely on a new subject, Danny tugged his sleeves down further over his hands. He'd have to put on gloves as soon as he could because as if it wasn't bad enough before, now Andrew was writing on _his hands_. Danny would have felt a little bad about ignoring them, but- But-

 _Fuck_. Not only were the three all happy and together and everything, but they were _ghosts_. The things he and his parents fought _every single day_ and the same things that had no qualms about beating him until he was pretty close to becoming a _full_ ghost.

It was barely past lunch and Danny was already driving himself crazy with how paranoid he was making himself. He knew that ghosts and ghost equipment couldn't feel him when he was human, but he had taken the extra step to start wearing his hood up and stay as concealed as possible. He _knew_ Randy was there - and maybe even Andrew or Novan - and Danny was _not_ willing to run into them again.

Why were they even _looking_ for him? Didn't they know how badly all of this could end for them? If it had been bad before, then now it was a thousand times worse. Right. Okay. Take it easy, Fenton. If he could just avoid them until they gave up, then it would be fine.

Danny would even stop writing on his skin! He'd stop reading the cute little messages and the funny arguments and Andrew's amazing story ideas. He'd cover himself back up, never look at his skin again, and they could all forget this had ever happened, because… It would never work.

There were a million reasons as to why it wouldn't work and, as always, they all started with the fact he was _half_ -ghost. He thought he would be screwed with his mates being human, but having them be ghosts? That was somehow so much worse- God, fuck, _jesus_. That explained all the writing appearing on him when he was born.

Fuck. Full, complete sentences and then his parents had probably _known_ that weird stuff was ghost writing or whatever. No wonder Danny instinctively understood it all, which, yeah, _that_ made sense. Not.

God, okay, keep calm. He wasn't sure how much they knew about him yet, but all he had to do was stay covered, keep out of sight, and make sure the ghost shield was on when he got home. He'd be able to keep them away and eventually everything would go back to normal.

Except, no, it didn't. It didn't because _they didn't seem to be giving up_. Danny had covered every inch of his skin and kept himself hidden, and yet he could always feel the two of them _there_ and lingering just out of sight. Andrew seemed to be trying to write to him in whatever space he could, and he was pretty sure the only reason words weren't showing up on his face was because Andrew had a scrap of decency. That didn't stop his friends from telling him he had _freckles_ one day, though.

At the two week mark, Danny was close to having a nervous breakdown with how often he was looking over his shoulder. It was almost a _relief_ when he heard people screaming about a robot attacking them. Skulker, after all, he could handle.

"Alright, you tin can, haven't you learned your lesson yet about terrorizing the locals?" He had never been so thankful for his jumpsuit covering every inch of his skin, before.

"Ah, ghost child." Skulker grinned from where he was holding up a net filled with… Okay. Dash caught in a net. That was funny. "I knew you'd come out if it was to save your adoring humans."

"Dude, you've been spending way too much time around Vlad. You're starting to sound like a supervillain." 'Save your adoring humans?' Aah, at least some things in his life were normal again. "Right, here's how it's gonna go. You drop the jock, I beat you a pulp, and then we go on our merry ways. Sound good?"

"I think I have a better plan in mind." Skulker grinned, wild and sharp, and Danny couldn't help but to return the grin because oh, this was going to be _fun_. Danny was just starting to gather the energy for an ectoblast when- Okay, his robot suit couldn't pale, or anything, but Skulker looked like he had just seen _Godzilla_ or something behind him. "You- What are _you_ doing here?"

"Yeah, wow, no, I really don't want to turn around, do I?" Because anything that could scare Skulker shitless probably wasn't going to mean good things for him. It was probably fucking Pariah.

"Ah, Skulker! Just the guy I wanted to see." Fuck- _Fuck_. That was so much _worse_ than Pariah Dark. "I have a bit of aggression to take out and I think we still have a fight to finish." Skulker's fear increased before he was suddenly flying away, a blur of white speeding after him.

" _His name can be very accurate._ " Fuck, okay, that was definitely not a language Danny knew, so why the _hell_ was he able to understand it- Fuck, fuck, fuck, if that was Randy, then this must be Novan, and they were his mates they were _his mates_ \- " _Easy, little Phantom_."

"Easy- Easy?! _You two_ are the ones making my life difficult! I wouldn't be driving myself crazy if you would just _leave_! Why can't you just leave me alone and never come back!" Heh. Wow. Danny didn't think it was _possible_ to hate himself anymore, yet here he was.

" _I don't speak your language anymore, little Phantom._ " Wait- What? Novan, because that _had_ to be Novan after everything he had read, didn't even seem bothered by his screaming. " _The language I use is one meant for the dead. All ghosts can speak it._ "

"Uh, maybe not all ghosts." Danny paled as Novan grinned and that… That hadn't been English. "I'm- I'm not-"

"It's instinctual. The language seems to suit you well." That… It was like the longer he listened, the clearer he understood. "We only want to talk."

"Yeah, I find that hard to believe when you've been _stalking_ me for the last _two weeks_." He had near driven himself crazy and his parents were more and more suspicious the longer he insisted they keep the ghost shield up.

"Would you have come to us on your own?" That… That wasn't fair. Danny hadn't told them _anything_ and they already seemed to _know him_. "Oh, Danny…" One of his earlier dreams flashed through his head, there and gone in a flash, and it was them. His mates were in front of him and he was still so _scared_. "Would you stay long enough to listen?"

"We'll leave you alone after that if you want." Swearing at Randy's sudden appearance, Danny hated at how he wasn't even angry as Randy flashed him a grin. "If it helps, Skulker won't be bothering you for a while."

"I can fight my own battles." No- No, that was right. He didn't need some- Some _protectors_. He could take care of himself.

"Of course you can. Look at what you've already done." Randy shook his head, leaning back in the air and smiling at him. "That little scrap of misplaced masculinity just pisses me off." Fuck. Danny hadn't meant to laugh at that.

"If… If I listen to what you have to say, you'll leave? You'll stop following me and you'll leave Amity Park?" Because that was for the best- Yeah, alright, he sounded like a self-sacrificing Victorian maiden of a hero, but _it was_. Those three had each other and there was no way Danny would ever be able to have _ghost soulmates_ and have things be okay. Besides, he was used to silence, and they had never known him before that Christmas.

"You have our word," Novan said softly, dragging Danny's attention to him. "We won't force you, little Phantom. Not on anything." It… It was just listening, right?

"I guess-" A long, shrill feedback noise had all of them covering their ears, Danny biting off a yell as he looked down and oh, great. The Dicks-in-White. "Fuck."

"Ghosts! You are in a ghost-free town and are violating multiple treaties! Submit yourselves to our custody immediately!"

"Do they think that would actually work?" Randy looked amused, at least, shaking his head. "These are those incompetent ghost hunters, aren't they?"

"Yeah, not as incompetent, anymore. Last fight with them and it took me a few days to recover from it." Thank god for speed healing. "So, uh, looks like that talk is gonna have to wait."

"You're not that lucky, mon douce." Dammit- Was that French?

"Who are they?" Ah, right. Novan couldn't speak English- Why didn't he know English? _Everybody_ knew English.

"Better question, why are they _here_. They haven't bothered me in months." Danny huffed, glaring at his 'mates.' "I bet it was your guys' fault."

"Probably." Randy seemed completely uncaring as he looked to Novan and that… That was a very dark grin. "They're threats."

"Oh?" Yeah, okay, that grin was even _worse_ on Novan. "Allow me then, mate." With that, Novan was falling to the ground and walking down the center of the road, completely uncaring of the weapons on him and _holy shit did one of his mates just shift into a wolf_?

"He's a shifter ghost. Think werewolf." Yeah… Yeah, he could see that. "Danny?" Snapping his gaze over to Randy- Oh, wow, okay, he was a lot closer, now, and- There was a hand. On his cheek. And warm. "I don't know if we've mentioned it before, but we have a lair, a home in the Ghost Zone. Her name is Vidya and it's impossible to break in. Will you come with us so we can explain things properly to you?"

"Yeah, gee, that sounds great, I'll just wander off into the Ghost Zone with two ghosts I don't even really know! You know my parents would kill me for that, right?"

"Only if they were to find out," Randy laughed, and, yeah, great. His mates were crazy and okay, that hand was pressing closer and a thumb was rubbing against his cheek and it felt… It felt nice. "Just until we explain. If nothing else, you'll be able to avoid those idiots down there."

"I… I guess." A glance down showed that if Novan kept up what he was doing, Danny wouldn't have to worry about the Guys-in-White _at all_. "I can leave after you explain, right? And you won't follow?"

"If you believe nothing else I say, then believe that you'll be safe back at home by the end of today if that's what you want." Thinking the words over for a moment, and knowing he was probably damning himself in some manner, Danny finally gave a small nod.

"Fine. Deal, or whatever." Getting away from the Guys-in-White was probably for the best, anyways. Their ghost detectors had been improving too much for his liking. Besides, this way he could end it all and come up with some lie on how he didn't want them. It'd be perfect.

"Perfect." Somehow, though, Randy's grin was very much making him feel as if he had lost something.

::

"C'mon, Andy. The kitchen floor shouldn't have to put up with your abuse." Stumbling in his steps and thoughts, Andrew looked over to Randy and felt _worse_ at the weak, tired smile he was given. "You're pacing."

"Yes, well- It's been _hours_." Andrew had worried himself sick after he was left alone in the library and then they had come home with Danny and Andrew had been so _excited_ , and then… He had only stayed long enough to listen to how yes, they were mates, and yes, there seemed to be a few unexpected… bumps. Danny had then flown off and hid himself in the library. "Randy, it's been _hours_."

"He's still in Vidya, though." Well, yes… "That shows he's willing to listen to us and talk, but he's just overwhelmed. He'll probably come back out to talk to us once he's had a bit longer to think about everything we told him."

"No doubt he'll not be found until he wishes it." Novan was sitting on the counter with an upset little frown and glaring at the kitchen tile as if it had personally offended him and his entire clan.

"Yes, well. We'll see about that." Andrew glared at the oven as if that would make it work faster, worrying on his lip and oh, their sweet mate… No doubt Danny had shoved himself away in the smallest study he could find that was as far away from them as possible.

He had a feeling that the boy was probably both relieved and _terrified_ at being alone and away from them - not that Andrew could blame him. Two weeks of Novan and Randy shadowing him had probably made him paranoid, and then being dragged to the Ghost Zone while running away from the Guys-in-White? Andrew wouldn't feel very sociable, either.

The oven gave a single little ding that startled Novan into almost slipping off the counter and had Randy jerking his head up and looking around with wide eyes. Andrew rolled his eyes at the two and grabbed a pair of oven mitts, carefully pulling out a tray of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

"I will admit that everyone has layers to their personality and that sometimes we need to be gentle in how we peel them back one at a time." Testing one of the cookies with a toothpick, Andrew nodded and grabbed a plate, sliding the cookies onto it before setting a few aside for the other two. "However, a knife can work just as well as time and effort."

"I'm not sure if I should worry about how you phrased that or worry about you're going to ruin his appetite with that many cookies." Hypocrite. Randy already had three tucked away and hidden and was munching on a fourth. "He needs time, Andy."

"Which I'll be all too happy to give him." After Andrew pried Danny's eyes opened and showed that they were there for him and that he didn't have to do all of this on his own. "For now, however, he could do with a nice treat."

"I agree with our little writer." Ha, see? _Novan_ was agreeing with him. "If nothing else, eating all those cookies will put him to sleep and give him a peaceful rest for a few hours."

"You're both against me," Andrew huffed, snagging a kiss from them both before grinning. "Don't worry. I can handle it from here."

A flash and he was teleporting into the deeper and safer parts of his lair, letting Vidya guide him to where Danny seemed to have tucked himself away. Thinking about it from his point of view, Andrew would be right where Danny was, hiding away and hoping that he was left alone all the while wishing someone would come find him.

Knocking on the door, Andrew wasn't surprised when there wasn't an answer. "Danny? I- Well, I baked some cookies. I thought you might like to try some?"

Andrew wasn't sure how long he waited outside the door before it creaked open, Danny floating in the air as Phantom and glaring at him with bright green eyes that near took his breath away. "Shouldn't you be with your mates."

"I am." The glare didn't get any better, but Andrew could have sworn he saw a hint of a smile. "If you _don't_ want some freshly made chocolate chip cookies that are still warm and soft from the oven-"

"Jesus, fine, whatever, come in if you want. I don't care." Ah… Only a few words and Andrew could tell this boy was sharp and callous with his words and had a level of sass that no doubt got him into trouble frequently. "Probably aren't even good cookies."

"I think I'll let you be the judge of that." Andrew set the plate on one of the small desks shoved into the study room, frowning as he noticed it was littered with papers. "Hello, what's this?" Grabbing a cookie and taking a bite to prove it was safe to eat, Andrew sat himself down in an uncomfortable wooden chair and started sorting through the papers. It was his writing and words, certainly, but he had no recent memory of even being _in_ this room.

"You're weird. You know that, right? Because you are. Weird. Extremely." Danny muttered and grumbled as he snatched one of the cookies before quickly floating back, Andrew careful to look like he was not paying attention as Danny took a bite. It was precisely two seconds before the cookie was gone and Danny was reaching for a handful more. "Whatever. They're not even that good."

Hm. Too prideful for his own good, words that pushed everyone away that attempted to get close to him, and a moral center that made him keep fighting for 'good' long after everyone else had given up. Andrew adored him already- Oh, he remembered this!

"Did you just squeak? What kind of guy squeaks- Dude, have you heard your voice? Your voice should not be able to squeak-"

"Oh, hush, I didn't squeak." He had just… hummed. "I was merely excited. I had forgotten all about this story." Gathering the papers up, Andrew smiled as he went through them a bit faster. This had been during the resurgence of his space travel phase.

"Story? Oh, yeah, you write stuff, don't you?" Danny moved a little closer, hovering near the desk as he grabbed another cookie. "What do you want to know."

"I- Pardon?" Andrew frowned as he looked up to see the teen was staring at the ground and had the demeanor of a man sent to hang for his crimes.

"Look, I'm not an idiot. You're here to find out answers and figure out why I tried to shut you guys out and why I never wrote to you and all that stupid stuff. So just ask your questions so I can leave and not have to worry about-"

"What's your favorite book?" Andrew delighted in the baffled expression far too much, especially when Danny opened his mouth, closed it, and then gave a little grunt of confusion. "Well, you asked if there was anything I wished to know. So, what's your favorite book?"

"I- Uh, I guess- Okay." Danny looked a lot more like his age as he looked away before looking back to Andrew and gave a cautious little grin. "I guess I always kind of loved The Soundless Clock."

"The Sound- M. J. Anderson's The Soundless Clock?" That… Of all the possible books in the world, Andrew had never expected Danny to pick _his_ \- Goodness. Soulmates, indeed.

"You know it?" Was that really all it took to get Danny to smile and open up? "Isn't it the best book ever! You never see any good Steampunk books like that, but, I mean, dude- _Dude_. And oh, man, have you read Star Gazers? That one was _so amazing_!"

"You like space travel and science fiction, then?" This- He was learning about his soulmate. Novan and Randy were just upstairs and Danny was in front of him and smiling and for once- For the _first time_ everything felt… complete.

"Uh, is that even a question? I want to be an _astronaut_ \- Or, I mean, I did, but I _love_ space stuff more than- Uh. What?" At Danny's confused silence, Andrew only gave the papers another shake and held them out more towards him. "Okay?"

"Don't worry. I think you might like this." Letting an unfinished and unseen story go was far too easy considering he usually guarded his words like a dragon with gold, but… It was Danny. It was _Danny_.

"Is this-" Danny was flipping through the pages, eyes wide. "This is so- Can I read this? Like- Like before I leave, can I-"

"Of course. You might be able to help me work out an ending for it." Andrew tried to hide his grin as Danny _beamed_ , grabbing the plate of cookies and retreating to a small couch pressed against the not-so-far wall and-

"Dude, get over here." Danny was looking at him expectantly and patting the other seat on the couch, Andrew not bothering to hide his grin this time.

Settling beside the teen with a few pens and a notebook at the ready, Andrew paused to watch Danny squirm and settle down with a grin he couldn't keep off his face, eyes all too eager as they skipped lines at a time to figure out what was going to happen next, and…

"Danny?" At the curious hum, Andrew leaned in and pressed a featherlight kiss against the teen's temple. "It's nice to finally meet you, mon cher."

Danny didn't say anything, but he didn't have to with a smile like that.

::

"Ah, so this is why you needed my help." Novan was floating in the air next to Randy and looking as fondly amused as Randy felt at the scene in front of them. "They've bonded well."

"Leave it to Andy, I guess." Randy had been worrying about the two for hours and had finally checked on them when it was late even by Ghost Zone standards and what did he find? Andrew and Danny curled up on a couch together and fast asleep with multiple papers surrounding them. "Can you take Andy up to bed? I'll find a room for Danny to use."

"Of course." Novan flew over and gently worked Andrew free from where he had curled himself up to Danny, soothing him down with soft nuzzling and quiet thrumming. "Bedtime, little writer."

Andrew grumbled out something in French that not even Randy could make out, the man shoving his face against Novan's chest and settling down with a quiet little hum. Randy choked on a laugh. "I'll be up soon."

"See that you are." Novan gave him a kiss that very nearly made him forget what he was doing before he managed to push the ghost back.

"You're awful." Ugh. He could _feel_ himself blushing. Novan, the bastard, only laughed and disappeared with a smirk. " _Awful_." Ah, right. "Come on, Danny. Let's get you to bed."

Flying over to the teen, Randy was careful and setting the pages aside so they wouldn't crinkle before he was carefully moving Danny into his arms. The teen seemed to stir for a moment before Randy chuckled, "Easy, petit mec. It's Randy, and you're safe inside our lair, Vidya. Nothing can hurt you here and all your friends and family are safe back in Amity Park."

It was hardly even a second before Danny seemed to slump into his arms and drift back off, Randy sighing softly. "Oh, little one…" Randy knew what it was to worry after those who he cared for, but to be so on guard even in sleep? That wasn't something that developed overnight. "Let's get you to a proper bed."

It didn't take long to get them back up to the main areas, Randy hesitant to teleport them when Danny was asleep and in his human form. He wasn't sure what effects teleportation really had on humans and, after first arriving, Danny had looked dizzy, confused, and overwhelmed enough to last Randy a lifetime.

Besides, it wasn't so bad to have an excuse to hold Danny and cuddle him close, and, well. If he chose a guest bedroom that was right across from theirs… It wasn't like Danny would know until morning.

Using his powers to pull the covers aside, Randy gently set the teen down on the bed, surprised when Danny started stirring awake. "Hey, it's okay. Just moving you somewhere a bit more comfortable."

"Wha…" Danny was cut off with a large yawn, the teen blearily staring up at him. "What time is it?"

"Late enough that you should probably sleep here for tonight. If you want, I can help sneak you back into your room in the morning, though." It was rather telling that _that_ seemed to reassure Danny the most. Teenagers, honestly. "Our room is right across the hall if you need anything-"

"I get my own room?" Oh, Danny. "I mean, I thought you guys would just…" Danny didn't seem to know how to finish, the teen giving a shrug as he stared up at Randy.

"Yes, you get your own room." Sitting on the edge of the bed, Randy was careful and slow in how he moved to brush Danny's hair aside. "We explained how we wanted to meet you, and we _do_ want to begin a relationship with you, but not right now." Seeing the stirrings of hurt and rejection, Randy laughed, and shook his head. "Danny, you're still fifteen."

"I'll be sixteen in no time at all." The fact he kept _saying_ that was not much reassuring of his age. He knew the risks and consequences of relationships, Randy was certain, but with three soulmates? It would be overwhelming for anyone. "I can-"

"You can be our friend and take the time to understand yourself on your terms. We understand that you're still young and this is all going to be new to you, so you can take all the time in the world you need to figure it out. You can take your time, Danny."

"I…" Danny stared up at him with wide eyes, clearing his throat and trying to huff and put up a front. "I'm not _young_."

"Younger than us," Randy smirked, pinching Danny's cheek and laughing when the teen whined and swatted him away. "There's no rush, Danny. We're ghosts, yeah? We have forever to get to know each other."

"I- Yeah. Yeah, I guess so." Seeing that the teen was desperately in the need of some rest, Randy began to stand up. _Began_ because his sleeve was now being clutched in what he almost wanted to call a death grip. "I…"

"Hey, it's okay." Randy gently pried Danny's hand off his sleeve before giving it a tight squeeze. "Tell me what you need."

"Could you just- Can you maybe just stay here a little bit with me? Like, until I fall back asleep or something? I know it's stupid-"

"It's not stupid." Randy let go of Danny's hand before nudging him up. "Here, let's get this coat off of you, first. I can tell you now that you'll hate yourself later if you go to sleep with that thing on."

"Ugh, you're _that_ kind of boyfriend." Ready to snap back with his own comment, Randy paused at seeing Danny's bright blush and oh- Oh. Boyfriend. That- This teen was _precious_. "Can we make a blood pact that nothing said here tonight gets spoken of again?"

"No blood pact, but I'll do my best to not embarrass you too badly." As soon as the coat was off, Randy was tossing it to the end of the bed and then moving to pull the blankets over Danny and cover every inch of his skin that he could. As he expected, Danny gave a quiet sigh, relaxing into the bed.

"Thanks." Danny was quiet as Randy shed his own coat and shoes and settled on his stomach with a little stretch. It was only a moment before he was hiding a grin as Danny curled a little closer to him. "I… I don't hate you guys."

Randy stayed quiet, only leaning back against Danny and letting the teen say what he needed to. Sometimes, it was best to talk when hidden away and on the verge of sleep. "It's scary. How bad I want all of this. It's _terrifying_. But just… Please, can you just-"

Danny sucked in an unsteady breath, Randy carefully and slowly raising an arm. Danny was curling up under it at once, Randy near completely shifted onto this side with how much Danny had wiggled his way closer. "Be patient?" The words were whispered against his shirt more than anything else, Randy smiling sadly as he wrapped his arm around Danny and kept him close.

"For forever." It was going to be difficult - hell, it had been difficult to adjust when it was just Randy and Andrew dealing with Novan now being in their lives. This, though? This was going to take a lot of work and want and effort, but…

Randy pressed a kiss against the top of Danny's head, soothing a hand down his back and sighing softly and contently. It was going to be difficult, but Randy had a good feeling about the four of them.

"Tell me about ghosts." At the quiet request, Randy hid a laugh and oh, no wonder he and Andrew had fallen asleep together. They had probably spent hours talking and chatting. "Anything. Everything."

"Alright. I'll tell you everything I know." Danny settled more against him and Randy tucked the blankets more around the teen before beginning to talk, amused when the teen dropped off against him.

This was definitely a forever he could get used to.

::

"He's staying with us another day?" Oh? Letting his gaze slip over to his mates, Novan watched Andrew give a confused little frown. "Not that I'm ungrateful, but why? I thought he wanted to leave before his parents noticed him missing."

"He called them and told them he was staying with his friends for the weekend," Randy shrugged, looking a mix of confused and pleased. "He wants to be sure that Guys-in-White are gone before he goes back."

"And you believed that lie?" It was hard to hold back a laugh at Andrew's scrunched up expression as he shook his head. "Did he charm you that quickly, then?"

"At least _I'm_ not the one who fell asleep on the couch with him while reading and writing stories for hours on end. You two missed dinner, you know."

"Oh, well, these things happen. It seems very similar to how you feel asleep next to him _on the bed_ last night."

"Wha- I was _not_ -" Leaving the two to their 'fight' with a snort of laughter, Novan shook his head as he stood with a stretch. It was too easy, at times, to see how those two had been raised as kin.

While Andrew and Randy shouted at each other and got closer and closer, Novan took his leave with a shake of his head. They might as well as just be obvious about wanting to fuck each other instead of making a show of it. Well, he'd let them have their fun. He should find Danny, though, because Andrew had been right about him lying- Well, not lying. Not really. Novan knew an excuse when he heard one.

Letting his shift bleed into his features, Novan closed his eyes and let his senses stretch out across Vidya and ah, there he was, pacing through the halls as 'Phantom.' Such a young thing…

Hearing the teen muttering to himself in one of the living languages, Novan shadowed after him, amused when the younger didn't even seem to notice his presence. Well. If he was going to be oblivious about it… Ah, but no. Novan could see the way cautious and awareness shadowed him more effectively than any shadow. He had probably known Novan was there from the second he appeared.

"You, little hero, are far too tense." That was all the warning Novan gave before he was teleporting them away deep into the gardens. Danny spun around in a quick circle and looked ready for battle, Novan contently sitting down on a patch of grass and watching him in amusement. Such a high-strung little mate.

Danny seemed to be yelling at him, but Novan couldn't be sure what he was saying. He could certainly tell what he was saying when he trailed off and muttered to himself as he looked around the 'garden' with wide eyes. For rarely leaving this lair, Andrew had managed quite the replica of some of the ghostly forests. Novan would be willing to bet that was Randy's doing.

"-how's this?" Perking up at the words, Novan looked back to Danny to see he was looking contrite. "Sorry, I forgot the whole ghost language thing."

"It's understandable," Novan chuckled, smiling softly as Danny flew over to carefully sit beside him. "We often cling to our native languages more than anything else."

"Wow. Here I thought Andy was the wordy one." Danny only grinned at the glare Novan shot him, and, really. Brats, the lot of them.

"There's no need to insult me, little hero." His glare softened at the bright, surprised laughter Danny fell into. "Words can be a good thing, but there are times where words aren't needed or wanted."

"Dude, tell me about it." Danny sighed and slumped against the tree Novan had settled against. "It seems like I never have the words for _anything_ , anymore."

"So explain them without words." It was simple enough. Novan looked to Danny and saw that his look seemed to say otherwise.

"There is no way to explain stuff without using _words_. I mean, okay, different languages, sure, but I mean-"

Leaning over, Novan cupped Danny's head and tilted it back and up, softly kissing at Danny's jawline and holding him in place before he was relaxing his grip. As expected, Danny had stopped his rant and was now flushing a soft, icy blue- Ah, ice powers. Interesting.

"What- What was that supposed to explain, then?" Letting Danny go carefully, Novan relaxed back against the tree with a hum.

"That we care for you and you're safe here. You and your secrets." There was a peaceful silence before Novan felt Danny lean against him, the teen letting out a quiet breath.

"So… Where are we, even? Some weird forest part of the Ghost Zone? Is this the Black Woods I was hearing about the other day? Hey, Andrew mentioned you and your clan-"

"Vidya." Goodness, this one did like words, though, didn't he? He and Andrew would get along perfectly. "We're in Vidya."

"What- No? No, we're not? I mean- Dude. Dude, we're sitting up against a _tree_ in a _forest_. There's no way that we're still in that library."

"Technically, we're in the gardens of Vidya." Novan felt the soft, fond brush of the lair against his thoughts. Sweet thing, she was. "They get carried away and then encourage each other _to_ get carried away."

" _Gardens_? Seriously?" Danny was up and in the air and flying around, eyes wide and rambling faster than anything as he laughed and giggled and inspected each new thing with nothing but unbridled joy and curiosity. It was easy to see why Randy and Andrew had already fallen in love with him.

Settling back down, Novan closed his eyes and let Danny explore the area with all the enthusiasm of a ghostling. Danny had slipped back into a living language at some point and was rambling away and looking excited at each and every new thing, Novan content to rest and occasionally peek his eyes open to make sure he hadn't gone too far.

It didn't feel like long before Novan felt Danny sit down and lean up against him again, this time no hesitation in his moves as he curled close. "I used to have these dreams, you know. Before I met you guys."

"Everyone has dreams. Even ghosts." Novan's were rarer and few and far in between, but he still dreamt of old days long since gone. The living world really had changed from his time.

"Yeah, but these were- I dreamt about you guys, I think." Oh? Novan reached an arm out and pulled Danny into his lap, amused when the teen squeaked and blushed before settling down with a quick clearing of his throat. "An- And, yeah, they, um- Right. They were- I mean, I'm pretty sure they were you guys. They fit now that I compare you now and the dreams then, you know?"

"No, but I'd like to hear more about them, if you wish to share." Novan hooked his chin over Danny's head, drawing the younger close and gently rubbing at his back. He was far too much like a ghostling still with the way he gave a delighted chirp and formed a tail, flicking it out to wrap around Novan's wrist. "Or you can sleep. You seem like you need it."

"Yeah, well, shut up." Danny settled against him anyways, voice quieting. "I remember dreaming about Andrew calling me that dumb French name. I also remember dreaming about Randy reassuring me that my family was okay. I- I, um, I think I remember dreaming about you, too."

"And what did I do in these dreams?" He was so easily embarrassed… Novan was really starting to understand why the other two kept calling him cute.

"It's weird, though, isn't it? That I dreamt of you guys before we ever met- I mean, that's weird. That's definitely weird." Ah. He had ignored the question. Brat.

"Sometimes. I remember even in my time there were stories of those who dreamt about their mate before ever even meeting." At Danny's curious look, Novan huffed a laugh. "I was born human as most ghosts were."

"Oh, I mean, yeah, I figured. Kind of have to be alive to be dead, yeah?" Mm. He really did need to tell Andrew and Randy the story. One day. "So, uh, how long have you been… not alive?"

"I've been _dead_ for a few… A few centuries." The word felt foreign on his tongue, but it was the only measure of time that Danny would understand. "I died in battle."

"Wha- Seriously? Like- Like killed with a sword and everything?" Danny cleared his throat, face flushing. "Not that- I mean, I'm sorry, but- I mean, it's not _cool_ , but I mean- Come on. That's pretty badass, at the very least."

"At the very least," Novan snorted, rubbing at Danny's back again and laughing when the teen went limp against him. "You can always come back. When you go back to the living world, this one isn't far away anymore."

"I…" Danny groaned and Novan felt more than saw him shake his head. "I want a- a _relationship_ , but I also- I mean, it's overwhelming. The idea of one soulmate is crazy, but three? That'd- That'd scare anyone, wouldn't it?"

"Let me tell you a secret." Novan softened his voice and leaned down to whisper against Danny's skin. "When we saw your writing, we were terrified."

"You… You were?" Danny wasn't asking if they were terrified about having _him_ as a mate. Novan knew that he was asking if they had been scared of having _just_ another mate.

"I was." Novan gentled his touch and kissed Danny's cheek. "I saw your writing and I thought I must have failed in some way. You had never written before."

"Yeah- Yeah. I mean, like I said yesterday, my parents were crazy about me hiding my skin. I guess they knew that having three fully grown soulmates would have been enough to have me government tested or something."

"You're safe here. You always will be." That, at least, seemed to be the right thing to say, Danny fully relaxing against him with a quiet sigh.

"So, hey, you travel around the Ghost Zone a lot, right? Tell me about it. Randy was telling me some stuff, but I mean, dude. You've lived here centuries- Well, not lived, but, yeah. You know what I mean."

Taking a few moments to just laugh and delight in Danny's company, Novan began to tell him everything he knew about the Ghost Zone that he had learned over the years, feeling more and more content as the day went on and Randy and Andrew joined them and chimed in with their own stories.

Novan didn't know or care how much time passed before he realized all four of them were cuddled up together on the ground, Danny having moved to Randy's lap as he and Andrew wrote down multiple words and edited a stack of papers, occasionally one of them using Randy and Novan as paper themselves - Danny had looked ready to cry when he wrote on Randy's skin and saw the words mirrored on his own.

The eternity could have passed them by like that and Novan would have been content. His pack was finally together and safe and happy and-

"Dude- Dude! Holy shit, you shapeshifted into a _wolf_ the other day! You gotta tell me you can do that because _how did you do that_!" Danny was beaming and looking excited as could be while Randy kept him from falling out of his lap and Andrew quickly caught the papers that had gone flying into the air.

Novan only stared for a moment before beginning to laugh and oh, _yes_. This was going to be a very good eternity.


	5. Chapter 5

"Teleporting is cheating!" Danny yelled after Randy - the _cheater_ \- before falling back to latch onto Andrew, who was flying at a much more reasonable pace. "Tell him he's not allowed to win."

"And why, mon cher, is he not allowed to win today?" Andrew hadn't even paused at his addition of a half ghost on his back, only eying the distance between them and Randy. Danny knew he was calculating the exact speed he would need to go to catch up and surpass him. "Because he seems to be winning."

"And I'm sure you'll fix that soon," Danny laughed, wiggling up to kiss at Andrew's cheek, grinning at the startled laugh Andrew gave. "It's my birthday. I'm the only one allowed to win flying races on my birthday."

"Yet you've lost every race since you started them." Pouting over at Novan, Danny huffed when the man only raised an eyebrow. "You two are far too competitive."

"Which two," Danny shot back, yelping when Andrew phased out of his grip before shooting off with a burst of speed that quickly overtook a startled Randy. Danny pouted as he slipped over to curl around Novan's shoulders, whining pitifully. " _No_ van, they're being mean to me."

"It's been years since you joined us. What part of them being mean surprises you?" Huffing and grumbling, Danny tried not to show how happy he was when Novan drew him around and pulled him into a deep kiss to 'make him feel better-' "I know you're faking."

"'S still working, though." Danny arched up for another kiss, licking his lips when they parted and watching as Novan's eyes went dark. "You know, _you're_ supposed to be leading the way."

"I'm certain they'll find their way. Randy found my clan once before, after all." Novan drew him back in, Danny all too happy to sink into the kiss. Danny wasn't sure if it was all ghosts that moved at a glacial pace or just these three idiots, but it wasn't until a few months ago that Danny had _finally_ convinced them that eighteen was plenty old enough to be in a relationship with them. They still made him wait another month or two until it was as close to his birthday as possible, so he was 'properly an adult' or whatever- Ah, teeth, that was teeth. "Get out of your head."

"Easier said than done." Danny hummed at the sweet little kiss pressed against his jaw before he felt very _sharp_ teeth and _sucking_ \- "Ah- Aha, okay! I get it! Not thinking!"

"Good." Novan, the bastard, was far too proud of himself as he sweetly kissed Danny's cheek and- "Keep up." With that, Novan was smirking and flying off quick as a shot, Danny left floating in the air and wait, what?

"They all just abandoned me." Danny blinked in the direction his mates had gone for a moment more before laughing and giving chase and oh, yes. This was the _best_ birthday. Especially when he managed to speed past them and stop just as they got to the clearing where Novan's clan was staying in and ha! He won!

"Quick, someone tell me embarrassing stories about Novan!" Most of the ghosts looked startled and confused, but one girl who looked somewhere around his age suddenly shot up with a beaming grin.

"I know stories that will embarrass him!" Perfect. Danny had just found his new best friend. "We were traveling in the desert and-" A hulking mass of fur and muscle tackled the girl to the ground, Danny startling before seeing two distinct colors of fur scrapping and fighting and okay, wolf fight. Didn't see many of those unless they were training, really.

Randy and Andrew were touching down beside him just as Novan, in his shifted form, pinned a small, upset looking wolf to the ground. Danny just pouted and complained, "You never let me have any fun."

"You were trying to find out embarrassing stories about him, weren't you? Don't answer that. I already know the answer." Andrew sighed, shaking his head. "And Novan, _must_ you fight with your clan the moment we arrive? That sends a very poor message."

"You literally tried to skin Randy with a knife a week ago when Johnny and Kitty came to visit," Danny pointed out, flying over to Novan and latching onto him as he shifted back, the girl doing so as well. "Hi, I'm Danny, I'm these guys' mate."

"Ooh, another one! Hi, I'm Lizzie," Lizzie chirped, looking quite fine that she was still being pinned to the ground. "Novan, why didn't you tell me you had three mates!"

"It was a recent development." Novan floated into the air, looking around at the other ghosts that had started to gather before helping Lizzie up. "This is Danny, Andrew, and Randy." Novan looked to the other ghosts once again, smile soft and warm. "My mates."

"Oh, that reminds me! I never got to 'talk' to Randy really when he was here last time." Lizzie was flying over to Randy and leading him away at once, looking to be saying something very serious. Randy only looked confused before he was looking _delighted_.

"Should we worry about that?" Danny was a little concerned about how happy Randy was as he nodded along to what was probably death threats. Lizzie seemed the type to make death threats. "I feel like we should worry about that."

"Randy can shift," Novan shrugged, as if _that_ was Danny's worry. "She'll go easy on him." Jesus. Novan's clan was something- Aw, ghostlings! They were so cute! "I see your attention is elsewhere, though."

"I need to hug at least one of them. Birthday demand." Danny flew over to the gaggle of ghostlings, clearing his throat. "Hi. I'm Danny Phantom, Novan's mate-" Okay, he was being hug tackled by a bunch of small baby ghosts. Definitely his best birthday yet.

"Hey, Novan! I think Lizzie wants to threaten you now!" Hearing Randy yelling for Novan, Danny tried to look over at them before quickly being distracted by his new charges. Randy himself was delighted and almost bubbling with laughter. He found it cute that Lizzie thought she could threaten him into taking care of Novan, but it was even cuter that she then wanted to threaten Novan into taking care of _him_.

"Leave each other be," Novan sighed, Randy feeling the pulse of warmth and fondness as he flew over. "The last thing I need is you two bonding."

"I'll be sure to visit her every few months from now on," Randy grinned, happily letting Lizzie latch onto Novan and drag him away. It seemed the moment Novan had seen the clan his emotions had lightened, and he was as happy and pleased as could be. They should make it habit to start visiting them every so often. Novan may have made a point about saying that clans didn't notice the passing of time, but he must have still missed them.

Perhaps- Ah, Andrew was excited. Why was- Oh, dear. Not even ten minutes there and Andrew was already writing down notes and ideas in a little notebook as he talked and chatted with various clan members, all of them looking and feeling equally curious.

Randy was content to stay on the edges and watch, gaze sliding to where Danny was laughing and chatting with a bunch of ghostlings, his affection as warm and light as his laughs. Randy could definitely see them joining the clan in a few decades or so - it was very easy to picture, after all.

Once Danny joined their world for good and didn't hold any ties to the human world, then it would be relatively easy. He was _always_ one for moving around and exploring. Although… Andrew might have a bit harder of a time if he couldn't get to that new laptop of his so easily.

Really, they never should have let Danny get Andrew a laptop for Christmas. The man took the damn thing to _bed_ half the time and it was an effort to distract him from it and oh, dear, Andrew was drawing a crowd and getting far too excited. Randy should probably do something about that _before_ Andrew offended someone.

"Andy, are you bothering Novan's clan?" Randy had to hold in laughter when Andrew turned to him with a pout and an aggressive wave of his notebook.

"I am not _bothering_ them. I'm recording inspiration to use at a later date!" The man was so cute when he got so riled up. Randy was also absolutely certain that Andrew wouldn't even remember that notebook was in his pocket until months later. "Honestly, Randy, you-"

"Ah! Wait!" Both of them startled and looked over to Lizzie, the girl pointing at Randy and looking righteously offended. "I remember you!"

"I mean, yes?" Randy looked to Andrew, giving a little shrug to show he was just as confused. "Should I be worried-"

"No, before I joined the clan!" Lizzie was looking angrier and Andrew watched as Randy paled. "I remember you because you stole a bracelet of mine!"

"Now, now, I'm certain-" Randy was flying away before he could say anything else, Andrew choking on a laugh as Lizzie darted after him and oh, goodness. He would just let Randy deal with that one, then. Mm, perhaps he should check on Danny.

A quick look around the clearing showed very quickly that Danny was surrounded by the children of the clan and acting out some of his more dramatic ghost fights. Andrew found all of his attention soon focused on Danny as he watched him fondly and, really… Danny was so _good_ with children.

Whether it be these ghostlings, other younger ghosts, or even just his 'cousin,' Danny was always good at getting children to laugh and soothing them down from when they were upset. Maybe one day… Ah, but those were worries for another time.

RIght now, Andrew was perfectly content to be- To be tackled. Alright, then. Tackling it was, for the moment. "Enjoying your birthday, mon cher?"

"It's _perfect_." Danny was wrapped around his front and nuzzling and kissing whatever part of him he could reach, Andrew choking on laughter at some of the squirming Danny did to get closer. "But I need to go ask Novan about something, so can you distract the kids with some stories? Pretty please?"

"I'm not really…" Andrew wavered at Danny's expectant and hopeful look and, well. A few stories wouldn't hurt, right? "I suppose one or two wouldn't do any harm."

"That's the spirit!" Danny beamed, Andrew opening his mouth, pausing, and then looking torn between laughing and sighing. "It was great and you know it."

"Oh, go find Novan," Andrew laughed, pushing Danny off of him and walking back over towards the ghostlings. Danny watched him for a moment before smiling and flying higher up to try and spot Novan - which he quickly did, but he couldn't help but pause when he saw all three of his mates.

All of them looked happy in some way and were looking to have the time of their lives. Novan was talking with other ghosts from the clan and looking relaxed and peaceful. Randy was being chased around by Lizzie and laughing and dodging and looking like he was playing with a younger child - which Danny supposed he was. And then Andrew was entertaining the kids and looking to be having _fun_ with it.

His mates looked so happy and Danny couldn't help but trace out words that were mirrored all between each other and stretched out across their skin for all to see. Danny… He really had come a long way from that teen who hid under his coat and was too scared to even see what was being offered to him.

It had been a hell of a long road to get where they were now, and Danny knew there would be more problems to come in the future, but right now? Right now, they were happy, and enjoying themselves, and it was a good day, and that… That was all they needed- That was all _he_ needed.

It wasn't just their souls that were bonded, but their hearts. God, no one would ever let him live it down if they heard his thoughts, but it was true. They had bonded hearts and that was something Danny would never want to break. It was something he was going to work at keeping safe, which, really. He was pretty good at that.

Looking at all of his mates one last time, Danny closed his eyes for a few moments and let himself just relax and oh, yeah.

It was going to be a good forever.


End file.
